IAN Evatt believes his defensive unit have laid a solid foundation for the recent upturn in form at Wanderers.

Bolton have taken 13 points out of a possible 15 to climb from 19th to 10th in the League Two table and have conceded just three goals in their last five games.

The improvements have coincided with a shift to a 4-2-3-1 system and the arrival of Kieran Lee and MJ Williams as new midfield options. But Evatt revealed the players have also had input on the training ground, which has had a positive impact on performances in the league.

“We are looking more solid,” Evatt said. “I think it’s just confidence really and obviously work on the training pitch with repetition, but they’re good players and they don’t become bad players overnight.

“The system has definitely helped us control games more. We have a lot more control and we’re not giving up many chances from open play certainly and we’re tightening up defensively from set pieces and the players have had a big part in that.

“We work together and it’s not a dictatorship. We’ll always take on feedback and information. We’ve changed one or two things defensively from set pieces and it seems to have worked.”

Although recent performances from the likes of Ricardo Santos, Alex Baptiste and Kieran Lee have attracted plenty of praise, Evatt insists nobody in the dressing room is getting carried away with the recent spate of results.

“We’re not going to rest on our laurels,” he said. “We always think that we’ve got goals in the team, but if we can be solid and compact and the two centre backs and the midfield players - that spine of the team - perform well, as they are doing, it gives us a great opportunity to win games. Again, they’ve given us that platform to win the game.”