IAN Evatt has confirmed that Wanderers are still waiting to hear from Gillingham on whether they have accepted an offer for Kyle Dempsey.

A second bid – believed to be £150,000 plus bonuses – was offered to the Gills last week for their club captain.

Dempsey is out of contract in the summer, and Bolton see him as a perfect replacement for their own former captain, Antoni Sarcevic, who moved on to Stockport County in October.

Asked for an update on the situation, Evatt told local press this afternoon: “The offer is still in.

“I think we are still waiting to hear back but we very much want Kyle to be part of this and part of this project.

“But for now, he is a Gillingham player and we have to respect that and hopefully we will get an answer off them soon.”

Evatt says the mood around the club has lifted since Saturday’s win against Ipswich Town and with no new injury problems this week, he heads to Shrewsbury Town on Saturday with confidence.

“I’m a lot happier because we won a game! That helps!” he said. “Sometimes it is only when you put the names up on the training board and you see who is fit and available and who is injured that you realise what things look like.

“This morning it looked a completely different team and squad and there is a completely different feel about them.

“I thought that on Saturday before the game. I thought there was a real energy and buzz about them and I’ve noticed the same this week.

“There seems to be a better energy. They’re holding each other accountable more, but in the right way, the right manner and they’re bouncing, which is great to see, but we have to back up what was a good performance on Saturday.”

Shrewsbury have come into some form of late, with Liverpool the only side to beat them since December 18.

“It’ll be tough,” Evatt forecasted. “Obviously Steve Cotterill is a very experienced manager and knows what he’s doing. He tried to sign me once so he must do!

“He has got them going. I think they’re unbeaten in five or six games, it’s going to be a tough ask but if we can perform like we did on Saturday, and build on that, then there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.”