KYLE Dempsey’s eagerness to learn could soon put him top of the class at Wanderers, says Ian Evatt.

The former Gillingham midfielder has impressed his manager adapting to a new playing style since signing for the club in January.

A calf injury has hampered his progress on the pitch in recent weeks but Evatt says the 26-year-old has thrown himself into his studies during tactical sessions and after returning to training last week, is now making recognisable progress.

Dempsey was one of nine first team players who featured in yesterday’s reserve team game against Fleetwood and the Wanderers boss says he is encouraged by the way he has settled at the club.

“When Kyle came in he kind of dipped in and out of the team and has had that little injury but I have been really pleased with him,” he said.

“It is a difficult thing to recruit so many players in January and for them all to hit the ground running when they came from completely different teams and backgrounds, doing things differently to the way we do things here.

“Kyle is learning all the time. When I am looking and presenting to the group for our visual learning and video analysis the intensity on his face and the attention to detail – he wants to learn and he is learning.

“He is a great character, a very, very good player and give us something completely different to what the others give us.

“I was pleased with his performance against Wimbledon, for instance. Him and Aaron (Morley) were outstanding. Aaron is getting better all the time as well, there is lots to look forward to with both of them.”

Meanwhile, Wanderers are keeping fingers crossed that Lloyd Isgrove has not sustained any lasting damage after limping out of yesterday's second string game at Lostock after just 20 minutes.

No comment has yet been made by the club.

Get unlimited access to all our Wanderers coverage - including exclusive podcasts, columns, video streams and matchday extras by subscribing to The Bolton News HERE.