ELIAS Kachunga should have extra motivation at Sheffield Wednesday after a horrific year at Hillsborough.

Ian Evatt reckons his German-born striker will want to show his former club that he is enjoying his football again after a tough 12 months with the Owls.

Kachunga made 29 appearances for Wednesday last season as they dropped out of the Championship, scoring just once in the League Cup at Rochdale.

But the former Huddersfield Town man has started well at Bolton and is being backed by his manager to prove his worth on Saturday afternoon.

“Kacha is maybe going back with a point to prove and that can happen, of course,” Evatt said. “Players can go to clubs and not have a good time, enjoy the experience.

“They might feel they go back and have a point to prove – but he certainly doesn’t to me, or any of us, we know what he can do.

“But I am sure Kacha will want to go back and do the best he can to get three points.”

Evatt has two former Wednesday players in his ranks, with Kieran Lee likely to get a much warmer reception than Kachunga.

He expects both to handle the occasion well, even if Lee is likely to get some ribbing from his former dressing room pals.

“I haven’t spoken to them much,” he said. “But we have had a laugh and a joke with Kieran because I’ve known Barry Bannan a long time and played with him – and apparently he used to call Kieran a ‘Creature’ when they were at Sheffield Wednesday.

“But these are players that are used to playing in big stadiums and they are both more than experienced enough to go and deal with it.”

Bannan spent time with Wanderers on loan in 2015 as part of the deal that sent Chung-Yong Lee to Crystal Palace.

The diminutive Scottish playmaker played alongside Evatt early in his career at Blackpool and is a player Wanderers have been warned to monitor.

“I rate him very highly,” Evatt said. “He’s one of the best players in this division.

“We have to formulate a plan to limit his involvement in the game because if we don’t then he has the tools to hurt us.”