‘WHEN the world stayed apart, we came together’ is a phrase that has been adopted by families the world over in 2020.

The Bolton Wanderers ‘family’ is no different. But manager Ian Evatt says it has not been easy encouraging unity amid all the restrictions.

For while the Whites are considered a working ‘bubble’, and are able to train as they would play, there are limitations on interaction away from the pitch at both the training ground and the UniBol, including social distancing.

That has made it harder for the 22 new signings and the few remaining players to get to know each other.

Pre-season training camps and tours, and team building exercises that would normally be organised to help encourage and establish a team spirit have not been on the agenda this year.

Evatt is not one to look for excuses, but this stark shift from the norm would go some way to explaining their slow start.

How have they got around the restrictions?

“With great difficulty,” he said. “We try to do as much as we can within the rules together and that’s it. There isn’t a lot we can do really, and that has been challenging and difficult. More so for us because we’ve got a completely new squad so it is difficult to do that.

“Obviously we have to abide by protocols and regulations and we always have done so it has been extremely challenging.

“Even at the training ground there’s protocol in place so we have to be socially distanced inside buildings so again it’s really difficult. There isn’t a lot we can do. We just have to get on with it and try to bond as best we can.

“Certainly we abide by every single protocol there is because we have to and we want to. It is what it is and we have to adapt and overcome.”

And Evatt explained how technology was helping with that.

“I know they have their own personal WhatsApp group and they speak to each other personally. I keep out of that. That’s for them to gel and bond. It’s my job to coach and manage them and they probably hear enough of my voice on the sideline and on the training pitch to not want to speak to me when I’m back home,” said the Bolton boss, who said gaming was another form of his players connecting away from the club.

“That’s the way of the world now, PlayStations and XBoxes and playing these games. I’d rather they were out on the garden and improving and practicing but that’s not the way of the world any more.”

But Evatt believes the on-field experiences they’ve shared have helped them the most with their togetherness off it.

“We were all disappointed with how we started and the initial results and obviously some players read a lot on social media and saw that they were heavily criticised so in many ways that’s brought people closer together and fuelled people’s fires even more,” he said.

“People have points to prove. We all have a point to prove. We all came to this club wanting to prove our worth to Bolton Wanderers and the support and we’re still in the process of doing that.”