After an impressive first seven matches of the season, Bolton Wanderers are sitting pretty in third place in League One.

The Trotters have acclimatised excellently since only winning promotion from League Two last term and the sky is the limit as far as manager Ian Evatt is concerned, as explained when he spoke to The Bolton News.

Evatt said: "We have been dreaming since day one.

"If you don’t believe you can be the best at something then you have no chance of being the best. We have that belief.

"It isn’t arrogance, it is self-confidence and belief in our ability. We have a long, long way to go and we can still improve in a lot of areas but I think we are a good team, so why not?"

 

 

Oladapo Afolayan and Josh Sheehan have adjusted particularly brilliantly with the former scoring four goals in the opening seven.

The Trotters host Paul Warne's Rotherham United on Saturday, an opportunity for Evatt to demonstrate how far they have come under him, given that there were two divisions between the two clubs at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

Bolton supporters will be delighted to be just one point below the automatic promotion places after the turmoil they have gone through in recent years, Evatt has them daring to dream.

The Verdict

The early signs are extremely good and it feels realistic to say that Bolton will compete for a top six finish this season.

Their only defeat came at the hands of fellow newly promoted side Cambridge United but their commanding 5-2 victory of big spenders Ipswich Town last time out was a statement of intent.

With the restored home support at the University of Bolton Stadium Evatt's men can continue to ride this wave of optimism to give themselves a great chance of making the play-offs.

Charlton Athletic, Lincoln City, Ipswich Town and even Rotherham have started slowly allowing Bolton to grab the initiative and announce themselves as a force in the third tier this season.