WANDERERS will be taking the road less travelled when it comes to their scouting next season.

Ian Evatt confirmed the club is planning to primarily use online scouting methods in the future, rather than the traditional man-in-the-stand, which has been the case in the past.

Bolton have not had a conventional chief scout since the departure of Tim Breacker at the height of the club’s financial problems in 2019 but now intent to use analytical software and footage, such as Wyscout, to check out opposition and run the first rule over potential signings.

“The game and the world has changed and gone are the days where you’d have a scout who’ll drive 400 miles to watch Bournemouth against Plymouth. That does not happen anymore,” said the Wanderers boss.

“In this day and age, we have access to wide-angled footage, analysts who can watch at home any type of game anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world, wide-angle or drone footage where you can see a full picture better than you would if you were at the stadium.

“We are on with rebuilding that side of things and Chris (Markham) is a huge part in that.

"We have recruited people who are already well down the road on that.

“That side of the game has changed and we are well on the way to building what we have missed out on this last few years.”

Evatt’s view may well upset some of the football purists, who have grown accustomed to Wanderers managers, coaches and scouts hitting the road in midweek to unearth talents.

And while Bolton have unquestionably had success with the old fashioned approach in the past, Evatt believes his own way – backed by the considerable analysis knowhow of technical performance director Markham – allows greater scope.

“I think when you can see the whole picture, you can rewind, forward, pause, that gives you a huge advantage. Live, you can miss so much,” he said.

“Obviously you don’t get a Bovril and a couple of Custard Creams, but you could sort them at home if you really wanted them. Nothing wrong with that.

“The world has changed and you have to maximise all the technology we have got at our fingertips.

“I think the days of scouts driving 500 miles at 50p a mile and filling up to drive to the shops, those days are finished.

“It is more about looking at the games using the technology from different angles and then once you have figured that out you can go into the character referencing or seeing if a player will fit into the culture of your squad.”

On the pitch, Evatt admits he is still slightly short in a couple of positions but is now concentrating his efforts on moving out some of the players who will not feature this season.

The likes of Brandon Comley, Reiss Greenidge and Ali Crawford have been tipped to move elsewhere after slipping way down Evatt’s pecking order last season.

The Bolton boss has been delighted with the standard of training since the players returned a fortnight ago and has promised a level playing field for those in his first-team plans.

“Every single one of them has embraced what we’re doing and have come back really fit and in a really good condition,” he said.

“The standard and the quality of the ball work is exceptional.

"They can see and look around our changing room and they can see that we’ve got quality in abundance.

“Are we one or two short? Maybe, at the moment, but we have still got a long time until the season comes.

"We will see what develops with players leaving, but for now, we are really happy with what we have got.”

Evatt also believes some of his new recruits offer him more tactical flexibility than he had in League Two – and moving between formations during games may not be uncommon after promotion.

“You have seen from the Euros with England that no two games are the same,” he said. “You have to adapt and overcome.

“The philosophy will stay the same. We want to be possession-based, we want to dominate the ball and we want to attack in numbers and be exciting to watch, but in terms of what formation we play, all that could change.

"We’re happy with a 4-2-3-1 but that doesn’t mean to say we’re going to change back to a 4-3-3, a 3-5-2, it just depends on the opposition and the individuals that we’ve got available for that game.”