Bolton Wanderers were one of the best teams in League One after the turn of the year and will be hoping to carry that momentum into 2022/23.

The Trotters have added Jack Iredale, Connor Bradley and James Trafford to their ranks already this summer, having built a deep squad in the January transfer window.

Ian Evatt has plenty of options at his disposal, and may experiment a fair bit in the early stages of pre-season, and will be looking to settle on a starting XI in the coming months.

The former Barrow manager explained how Wanderers are approaching the remainder of the transfer window when he spoke to The Bolton News.

He said: "I want to be smart and strategic and do things the right way.

"I am really pleased with where we are at.

"We have lost out on a couple of targets this summer but we haven’t really had that yet as a club.

"It doesn’t mean we will miss out, it just means we have to be patient for the next opportunity and football will always give you one.

"We have to rely on our ability to get the best out of our players and be the best coached team, the fittest team, all these one per cent gains that we can make."

Evatt seemed to stumble on a winning formula by switching to a three at the back formation at The UniBol and it will be exciting to see how their tactics evolve as potential top two contenders.

The Verdict

Evatt is very good with the media and has explained some of their transfer strategy while lowering expectations slightly in his comments.

Competition for places will be fierce in pre-season with some players who were on the fringes last term will have the chance to prove themselves again to the manager.

It will have been a relief for all involved at The UniBol, that Evatt has stayed put and the Blackpool managerial vacancy has been filled, with the former Chesterfield defender feeling central to the club's plans moving forward.

Bolton will have a very competitive budget for the level and should reflect that with a top six finish next season.