Ian Evatt speaks out on Bolton Wanderers future after 4-goal Huddersfield drubbing | OneFootball

Bolton's performance at home to Huddersfield Town will lead to questions regarding Ian Evatt's future.

Bolton Wanderers have endured a disappointing start to their 2024/25 League One campaign, and their latest 4-0 defeat at home to Huddersfield Town could see Ian Evatt lose his job after over four years in charge.

Trotters supporters will feel very aggreived that they are not playing Championship football this season. Back in May, it seemed as though WAnderers were set for promotion as they met Oxford United in the League One play-off final after such a strong 46-game campaign.

However, Bolton were stunned by a Josh Murphy brace on the day at Wembley as Oxford won 2-0 to earn promotion to the Championship, leaving them to compete in the third tier once again.

Thr 2024-25 season is not going to plan so far though, and the Wanderers faithful will be bitterly disappointed with how their side have started the season as, before the first international break, they had lost two of their opening four games, and picked up just one win, which came on the opening day of the campaign.

The hope was that they would return after the international break all guns blazing and looking to return to winning ways, but unfortunately that could not have been further from the truth.

The Trotters hosted Huddersfield Town this weekend, who had enjoyed a strong start to the season, but no one could have expected the scoreline, especially considering Bolton were the hosts, and the 4-0 hammering puts an immense amount of pressure on Ian Evatt's job in the dugout.

Ian Evatt speaks on his Bolton Wanderers future

It was an afternoon to forget for Bolton, but it could have been a different story if they had gone into the break with the scoreline goalless. Huddersfield's goal on the stroke of half-time via Josh Koroma spelled disaster for the hosts.

The Terriers were electric in the second half, but equally, Bolton were hugely disappointing defensively. They conceded three second half goals, one being a penalty and the other two coming from bad defending.

The final nail in the coffin came with 10 minutes to go as Bolton's attempt to play out from the back backfired as Antony Evans comfortably found the back of the net.

Despite marginally winning the possession battle, the Trotters managed just five shots in total, compared to Huddersfield's 16, which highlights a real lack of chances created.

Manager, Ian Evatt, was extremely disappointed with his side and described the performance as the worst in his four years as Bolton boss.

Questions will, of course, be asked regarding his future, and Evatt has stated that he will be "seeking" conversations with the ownership after this weekend's result.

“I don’t really have the words. It is hard for me to come off the back of that and speak to you guys, as you can imagine. It is difficult to manage my emotions," Evatt told The Bolton News.

“We were out-fought, out-battled, they were better technically than we were, it was as bad as I have seen since I have been at the club. It is extremely damaging and hurtful to us all at the football club.

“From the moment the final whistle went at Wembley I felt a massive black cloud and negative energy around the whole club. At the minute I can’t seem to shift it and I can’t find the answers.

“I feel like that is everything against what I am as a person, what we have built here, and at the minute I don’t have the answers.

“I have been through a lot of tough things in my life and it has created the man I am today.

“This is as tough as it gets. I don’t want to taint and tarnish everything I have done and created here. That today has really hurt me, personally.

“One thing I always do is back myself. I am an extremely confident person. It is tough for me to give you the answers you want because I don’t have them right now.

“I need to go away and think and have some conversations, see what happens.”

Ian Evatt's time at Bolton could be coming to an end

There is no denying that, overall, Ian Evatt's tenure has Bolton manager has been incredibly inspiring as he has given the clubs some moments to cherish.

Bolton had shockingly found themselves in League Two a few seasons ago, but Evatt made no mistake in earning promotion back into League One at the first attempt.

He then topped that off with an EFL Trophy win at Wembley two seasons later, overcoming Plymouth Argyle with an impressive 4-0 victory.

His side have been competitive in League One and were unfortunate not to go up last season, but it now looks as though their momentum has well and truly fallen.

Bolton's start to the season, after failing to gain promotion last season, has put a lot of pressure on Evatt's job, and his time at the club will most likely come to an end in the near future, whether he resigns or is sacked.

Trotters fans will be grateful for some of the key moments during Evatt's tenure, but the majority would agree that it is, unfortunately, time to move on, after an inexcusable performance at home this weekend.