Bolton Wanderers are set to face a crucial ending to the campaign as they try and secure an immediate return to League One after finding some excellent form over the last few months.

Ian Evatt has managed to get Bolton going and make them a real force in League Two since February after what was a challenging start to life at the club for the former Barrow manager. Question marks were raised over him earlier in the season and they did sit as low at 17^th place in the table following a defeat against Tranmere Rovers back on 23^rd January.

However, the Trotters have subsequently managed to take an impressive 29 points from the last 33 available to them in the league. That has seen them catapult up the table and put them in with a real chance of going on to secure promotion back to the third tier the first attempt this season. That would be an excellent achievement for the club after all the struggles they have endured in recent times.

With Evatt having turned things around recently at Bolton, we have decided to take a look back through the history of the club’s other managers and rank the top 10 best performing managers in terms of points per game (since three points was introduced for a win). Click ‘next’ to scroll through the list…

Kicking off this list is Gary Megson, whose time in charge of Bolton had some decent moments in there but there were also some real lows. He ended up accumulating 1.09 points per game during his spell as Trotters boss.

Megson arrived at Bolton in October 2007 with the Trotters having got off to a poor start to the Premier League season under Sammy Lee. It took just under a month for him to record his first win in charge which was a memorable 1-0 win over Manchester United. In February, Bolton would beat La Liga side Atletico Madrid 1-0 on aggregate to reach the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

However, they ended up being knocked out in the last 16 by Sporting Lisbon and ended up finishing in 16^th place just two points clear of the drop. The 2008/09 campaign saw Bolton at one stage look in danger of relegation once again and pressure mount on Megson. However, he turned it around and guided the Trotters to 13^th and signed a new rolling contract in March 2009.

The Trotters got off to a poor start to the 2009/10 season with them only managing to pick up 18 points from their opening 18 league matches and that left them in the relegation zone. On December 30 2009 the club confirmed that he would be stepping down from his duties as manager following a 2-2 against Hull City.

In at number nine on this list is Phil Parkinson, who it might be a surprise to see this far down the list when you consider some of the success he brought. However, there were some difficult seasons added in as well which lowered his points per game to 1.15.

Parkinson took over at Bolton in the summer of 2016 with his stock very high after he had guided Bradford City to a League Cup final, promotion to League One and then to the play-offs in the third tier. He arrived with the aim of getting the Trotters back to the Championship. The 53-year-old was able to do so in his first season guiding them to a second-place finish with 86 points.

The following season saw Bolton take until October to record their first win and they had just five points from their first 12 games. However, by December 2017 they had got out of the bottom three after a rejuvenated run of form. They eventually avoided relegation on the last day of the campaign with a dramatic 2-1 win at home to Nottingham Forest despite that being their only win in their last eight matches. The next season they were relegated after a turbulent campaign of off-field issues.

Parkinson’s side could only take 32 points from their 46 matches and that saw them drop down to the third tier once again. However, with the club’s ownership in question at the time Parkinson stepped down on 21 August 2019 having at first stayed to try and help a squad full of youth players start the campaign off as strongly as possible.

Coming in at eighth place here is John McGovern, who managed to accumulate 1.19 points per game from his 127 games in charge having won 41 and drawn 28 of those matches.

McGovern arrived at Bolton initially as a player-manager in July 1982, but he made just 16 first-team appearances for them before stepping down as a player so that he concentrate his full attention on his managerial duties. In the 1982/83 campaign, things did not go well for the new Bolton boss with his side suffering relegation to the third tier after finishing bottom of the league on 44 points.

The following season things did improve for Bolton, but it was not enough for them to challenge firmly for promotion back into the second tier and despite winning 18 of their 46 league matches the club were only able to finish the season in 10^th place. That meant that McGovern was under pressure to take them up the following campaign.

However, halfway through the 1984/85 season, he was allowed to leave the club with the Trotters far away from mounting any sort of promotion push. A new chairman taking over who wanted to appoint his own man to the managerial role meant his time was over.

In number seven on this list is Owen Coyle, who did not enjoy the most successful spell in charge of the club despite enjoying early success in the role. He ultimately accumulated 1.20 points per game.

Coyle arrived at Bolton on January 8^th 2010 with the Trotters looking for a successor to Gary Megson with the club in danger of suffering relegation from the Premier League. The former Wanderers striker arrived with his stock high after he guided Burnley to promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 34 years in 2008/09. Ironically, he picked up his first league win against the side he just left.

The Trotters ultimately survived in the Premier League in 2009/10 with Coyle guiding them to 14^th place on 39 points meaning they finished nine clear of Burnley in 18^th. The following season the Trotters made some decent signings with the likes of Chris Eagles and Daniel Sturridge helping them to another 14^th place finish. Whilst they also reach the FA Cup semi-finals losing 5-0 to Stoke City.

However, things went disastrously wrong the next season for Bolton who could never really pull away from relegation danger all season and they were relegated on the final day after a 2-2 draw at Stoke City. Coyle was under pressure to get them back into the top-flight in 2012/13, but they got off to an unimpressive start and fans started to turn and after a 2-1 loss at Birmingham City he was sacked.

Coming in at number six is ironically the man who would be chosen to replace Coyle following his departure from Bolton. That was Dougie Freedman and he managed to accumulate 1.34 points per game during his time in charge.

Freedman was appointed Bolton manager on 25 October 2012 with the Trotters sat in a disappointing 16^th place which put them 12 places below the side that Freedman left to takeover. His reputation was high after he led Crystal Palace to a strong start to the campaign. Things started well for him and he went the first month of reign unbeaten. A short dip in form would follow that though.

However, Freedman would take Bolton on a promising run towards the end of the campaign including a five-game winning run, but they ultimately missed out on the play-off finishing in 7^th missing out on 6^th place only on goal difference. Confidence was high they would be able to challenge for promotion back to the Premier in the 2013/14 campaign.

However, they got off to an awful start and did not win a single game until October when they beat Birmingham City. They improved in the second half of the campaign, but despite losing just two of their last 11 games they still could only end up in 14^th. A poor start to the following season saw them win just one of their first ten matches and ultimately led to Freedman’s sacking departure in October 2014.

At the halfway points in this list is Phil Neal, who managed to win 132 and draw 103 of his 351 games in charge of the club which gives him a points per game record of 1.42.

Neal was appointed as Bolton manager in December 1985 with the club initially appointing him as player-manager. He would guide them to safety during a difficult season in 1985/86 with the Totters finishing in 18^th place in the third tier seven points clear of the drop.

The following campaign was a disaster and they were related to the fourth tier for the first time in their history losing the relegation play-off after finishing 4^th form bottom on 45 points. Pressure was on Neal the following campaign and he did lead the club to automatic promotion with a third-place finish on 78 points one clear of Scunthorpe United. The Trotters finished 10^th in the third tier in 1988/89.

The following season Neal guided them to 6^th place and the Football League Trophy, but Bolton were beaten in the play-offs. The 1990/91 season saw the club miss out on automatic promotion on goal difference and then lose the play-off final to Tranmere Rovers. After a 13^th place finish the following season the decision was made to sack Neal in May 1992 after seven-years in the job.

Many Bolton fans would have been wondering when Sam Allardyce would appear on this list and he is sat in fourth place after accumulating 1.43 points per game during his highly successful spell in charge.

Allardyce arrived at Bolton in October 1999 and made an instant impact turning them from potential relegation contenders in the second tier to promotion contenders and finishing in 6^th place. While the club also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and FA Cup. After losing in the play-offs to Ipswich, Bolton finished in the play-offs once again and this time went up beating Preston 3-0 in the final.

Bolton won their first three games back in the top-flight including a 5-0 win against Leicester City. In the end the 2001/02 season ended with them in 16^th place. The following year Allardyce led them to safety with a final day win against Middlesbrough. 2003/04 would be an excellent campaign for them and they finished in 8^th place and also reached the League Cup final losing to Middlesbrough.

The following year smart signings continued to improve the squad and Bolton would finish in 6^th place to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time. The Trotters managed to reach the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in 2005/06 and finish in 8^th place in the table, despite Allardyce having been subject of intense speculation around the England job and him being linked with Newcastle United.

Unfortunately for Bolton, 2006/07 would be Allardyce’s final season in charge of the club. It was another hugely successful one for the Trotters with them really pushing for a top-four finish before disagreements between Allardyce and the board over lack of funds for players came to a head and he resigned with the club in 5^th place with two games remaining.

In at number three on the list is current Bolton manager Ian Evatt, who has so far managed to accumulate 1.50 points per game after turning things around in the last few months.

Evatt arrived at Bolton in the summer with his stock high after he guided Barrow to promotion from the National League last term with them playing some excellent football along the way. Pressure was always going to be placed on him to try and get the club promoted back to League One at the first time of asking this term following some good investment on signings in the summer.

Things started badly for Evatt and he was only able to win one of his first eight league matches in charge and also lost his first three games in League Two. However, a run of four successive wins in November did raise hopes that Bolton could still challenge for promotion this term despite the tough start to the campaign.

The Trotters are now currently unbeaten in their last 11 League Two matches and they have won nine of those which has given them 29 points from the last 33 available. That has put them in a very strong place to go up in Evatt’s first season in charge.

In second place with the second-highest ever points per game record in charge of Bolton is Colin Todd, who managed to win 79 and draw 53 of his 183 games in charge of the club leaving him with 1.58 points per game.

Todd arrived at Bolton initially in 1992 as assistant manager to Bruce Rioch. However, after he left the club to take over at Arsenal in the summer of 1995, Todd replaced his as joint-manager alongside Roy McFarland but he would leave his role as joint manager in early 1996. That left Todd in sole charge of the club but he was unable to keep the club in the Premier League in the 1995/96 season.

The following season though would be much more successful for Todd and proved he was more than good enough to do the job on his own. He guided the Trotters to the second division title with Bolton having scored 100 league goals and won 28 of their 46 games to finish the campaign on 98 points 18 clear of second-placed Barnsley.

However, relegation once again followed from the top-flight in the 1997/98 season. He came close to securing promotion again the following year but they lost in the play-off final to Watford in 1999 and seven games into the 1999/2000 campaign he left the club after Per Frandsen was sold to Blackburn Rovers.

At number one on this list is Bruce Rioch, who performed exceptionally well during his time in charge of Bolton and managed to win 83 and draw 42 of his 172 games in charge, meaning he accumulated a highly impressive 1.69 points per game.

Rioch arrived at Bolton in May 1992 with the club looking to try and challenge for promotion back to the second tier of English football. During the 1992/93 season, the Trotters managed to upset Liverpool in the FA Cup whilst also managing to secure automatic promotion back to the second division having managed to win 27 of their 46 games and pick up 90 points.

The following season saw Bolton manage to finish in a respectable 14^th place in their first season back in the second tier and they also cause three upsets in the FA Cup beating Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa as they were gaining a reputation for being a strong cup team under Rioch’s guidance.

The 1994/95 season would be Rioch’s last season in charge sadly for Bolton, with him leaving the Trotters for Arsenal at the end of the campaign. That came after he had guided the club to promotion back to the top-flight of English football with a third-place finish in the league taking them to the play-offs where they beat Reading 4-3 in extra time. They also reached the League Cup final that year too.