IAN Evatt reckons his old mentor Paul Cook is the right man to bring success to Ipswich Town after a summer of mass change.

The Tractor Boys ripped up their squad and started again in the summer, making 19 new signings in an effort to get out of League One at the third attempt.

Cook made Evatt his captain at Chesterfield as they won promotion from League Two in 2014 and reached the play-offs the following year. And the Bolton boss believes his old mentor has a knack of being able to bring squads together, backing him to get Ipswich close to their promotion aim this season.

“Recruitment is a key part of football because you are only as good as your players,” he said.

“What he has been able to do is recruit well at all the teams he has been at – and that is a skill in itself, it is credit to him. He gets teams and makes them gel quickly.

“I think he is a very good manager and I wish him all the best, with the exception of when he plays us, really.”

Ipswich’s new owners have backed Cook with cash as they completely rebuilt a squad which underperformed in their last two years.

Evatt did a similar transformation job at the UniBol last summer as he brought in 20 players over the course of the season, eventually getting it right from January onwards to clinch promotion on the final day of the season.

Ipswich have yet to win a game in their first five outings this season but Evatt reckons the quality of player Cook has brought to Portman Road should eventually tell.

“I’d have liked to have signed his 19 last summer!” he laughed. “It does take time, people need that to implement brands and identities as we saw last season. Hopefully he will be given time and I am sure he will, and he’ll get them going.

“But for us it is about going down to Ipswich and coming back with three points.”

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