PERSEVERANCE paid off for Wanderers at Atherton Colls – and Ian Evatt has warned his side they may have to stay patient in League One too. 

The Bolton boss looked frustrated for an hour as his side struggled to break down their non-league opponents. But he left the Skuna Stadium a happy man as the Whites rattled in four goals in 18 minutes to settle the result.  

“It’s difficult when teams make no attempt to win the game and just camp in but that is what we are going to come up against, especially at the UniBol against the lesser teams in League One. It is about how we break that down,” he said. 

“I said to the players that we will get them eventually. After that 60-70 minute mark that we spoke about a lot last season, we moved it enough, they got tired, it broke down and the floodgates opened. 

“Everyone is in one piece and we have had some great news with Sarcevic, his scan has showed there is no damage at all, which is great 

“We have one or two Covid issues, but everything else is great. 

“I don’t think we are really going to know where we are at until we play the likes of Barrow, Preston and Blackburn but for now it’s just about moving the ball and trying to play at the speed we want to play at.” 

Wanderers have also confirmed that Dennis Politic and Eoin Doyle are currently self-isolating. 

Politic will be out until next Monday, while Doyle – who began self-isolation yesterday – should return a week on Thursday. 

Evatt says he is still looking to move players on but said Ali Crawford’s absence had been down to injury and not exclusion. 

“We are looking to move a couple of players on but we are waiting for opportunities on that front at the moment,” he added. “We are looking to bring more in and if the right one came along we would look at it but I am happy with where we are at. 

“I think it would be tough to pick an 11 at the moment. And that is what we want. 

“The younger ones have done great. Adam Senior was fantastic on Saturday, Ronan Darcy has been excellent in both games, really grasping what we have asked him to do. It’s a strong squad.”