IAN Evatt has responded angrily to ‘negative’ reaction to Wanderers’ weekend victory against Barrow.

The Bolton boss says he is “baffled” by some comments about his side’s performance in their 1-0 win against his former club at the UniBol.

It is understood that remarks made in the club’s iFollow commentary, and in particular those of former Bolton winger Gary Henshaw, have been particularly taken to heart.

Speaking at his pre-Oldham Athletic press conference, Evatt said he could not understand how the mood had been so downbeat after a fifth successive win which put the club into the play-off positions.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “Don’t watch us. If you don’t want to support the team then don’t bother. I don’t understand how anyone can be negative at the moment considering what we have been through in recent history.

“I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can be negative about Saturday.

“A team came and had two banks of five, defended in their own half for the majority of the game, we made 630-odd passes, more forward passes than most of the league did in the entirety of their passing in a football match. We don’t smash it long, we don’t boot it, we try and create, what is there to be negative about? We have just won five straight games and six out of seven, what is there to be negative about? What is the matter with people?

“It is almost as if people have got used to criticising, used to negatives. And when Bolton are doing well, it upsets them. How can that be?

“I’m absolutely baffled, astounded. I honestly do care how we win. And you ask all the other managers, all the other people in football about how Bolton Wanderers play and they will say we’re a fantastic team which plays football the right way. That is how we should be spoken about and it’s how we should have been spoken about following the game on Saturday. That’s a fact.

“If you don’t like us passing it around and want us to boot it up to the front man, it’s not changing. We can’t boot it up there because we haven’t got any physicality at the top end of the pitch. That is what these League Two defenders want – big hairy-***** defenders who are 6ft 5ins want to head it out all day long. They don’t want us moving and probing them and having rotations and passing patterns, that’s what they don’t want.

“If you want to see that then go and watch someone else because you are not going to see it here, that’s my message to them. And I am talking about one person in particular there and you all know who I am talking about.”

Evatt was especially upset by a claim in commentary on the club's streaming platform, which is taken from Bolton FM, that Shaun Miller's goal had been offside and "covered a multitude of sins".

“It’s important that you understand how it happened," he said. "It was the 92nd and 93rd minute of the game.

"We could have easily panicked and just booted it forward to someone who is five foot eight, five foot nine and couldn’t win a header.

"We didn’t. We picked and we probed and we were patient and then one bit of good movement from Shaun and Arthur and a good pass from Declan scored us a legitimate goal, a well worked goal.

"Nothing flukey, nothing lucky, nothing fortunate about it. It was well worked.”