ALEX Baptiste’s increasing influence on Wanderers’ promotion push has come as no surprise to Ian Evatt.

The Bolton boss brought his former Blackpool team-mate back to the UniBol last summer hoping his experience would help a hastily put together squad make an immediate return to League One.

Some supporters were less than convinced by the veteran defender’s return after a two-year stint between 2013 and 2015 which saw him make 43 appearances in his first season before spending the second year of his contract out on loan at Blackburn.

But the 35-year-old’s partnership with Ricardo Santos at the heart of the Wanderers defence has been key for the Whites as they have charged to the sharp end of the League Two table in recent weeks, now sitting fourth with seven games to go.

“He has done exactly how I expected him to,” Evatt said of his one-time defensive colleague at Bloomfield Road.

“I have known Baps for 15 years and know exactly what he can do.

“I understand the first time he was here things didn’t go according to plan, so he had to win over a lot of our supporters over the course of the season.

“With the poor start there were question marks over the defence and he was a part of that but since then him and Rico (Santos) have come together and been outstanding.

“The best thing I can say is from what I have seen and heard he has won over all the Bolton fans now and is getting the praise he deserves.”

After being dubbed Wanderers’ own Paolo Maldini by an alternative fan commentary that went viral on social media, Baptiste’s career renaissance has led some to wonder whether he can emulate the Italian legend and keep playing into his late thirties and even beyond. Maldini hung up his boots when he was 41 and while Evatt says he has not discussed any long-term plans with his veteran defender he believes the former Preston and Queens Park Rangers man should not be considering retirement in a hurry.

“We haven’t had that conversation yet because we want to get to where we are going first but the way he is playing there is no doubt, for me, that he should be playing on next season,” the Bolton boss said.

“He has got so much experience to offer to younger players on how you go about your business from day to day on the training ground.

“You are a long time retired so my message to him would be to carry on as long as you possibly can.”