After a tough November for the Bolton Wanderers  in the league, Ian Evatt is hoping for a much improved time over the big festive period he tells Bolton News .

November ended up being a short month for the Wanderers after they were knocked out of the FA Cup  by Barnsley. After a Papa Johns Trophy victory over Barrow, and two leagues games which saw Bolton collect four points, Evatt says December is a chance for his side to kick on and pick up as many points as possible.

Evatt told The Bolton News: "The Christmas period is always a challenging and difficult period.

"If you have a really good Christmas, you end up really kicking on, and if you don't, you can end up getting drawn into the group and pack."

Bolton currently sit 5th in League One as they hit December, with a game in hand on all four teams above. The Trotters have six games scheduled, including a Papa Johns cup tie against Manchester United U21sThey also face tough league games against fellow promotion hunters Derby and Portsmouth.

Form has been strong in the league for the Whites, and Evatt knows how important that will be for the squad's confidence.

The former Barrow manager said: "We've picked up 10 points out of the last five league fixtures which is promotion form, two points a game regardless of performance levels. I think we are starting to get our confidence back, I can see that coming in spells."

Covid was still floating around last December, and some games were taken out of the Christmas period including the traditional Boxing Day fixture. Bolton failed to win a single game December, but with no covid in the way, a consistent run of games could help the side get consistency and confidence to pick up as many points as possible.

With strong recruitment, it has put the Lancashire side in a better position with a much bigger pool of players to choose from. Evatt says his side have full focus on the busy month, and although league wins are important, he hopes his side can push on to potentially make a Wembley final in the Papa Johns Trophy.

He said: "We want to focus all our attention on the Christmas period and December in particular. We'll have a cup game thrown in aswell, and hopefully we can continue to that Wembley goal."

The Verdict 

With the amount of top teams in League One this season, including Bolton, the table could look a completely different position when the Trotters travel to Barnsley on the 2nd January. The University of Bolton stadium has proved a fortress this season, with six of Wanderers' nine wins have all game on home turf. With a home game to start the month off on Friday against Joey Barton's Bristol Rovers, followed by Exeter and Derby to visit Lancashire during December in the league, it will be key that Evatt's side can keep that form up and make the away trips slightly easier.