Wanderers will take on Morecambe at the UniBol tonight without their captain, Ricardo Santos, on the pitch or their manager, Ian Evatt, in the dugout.

Looking to preserve an unbeaten start to the season, the Whites are likely to bring in Will Aimson at centre-half to replace the suspended Santos, with Evatt directing operations from the directors’ box, assuming his one-match suspension is also ratified by the Football Association.

Speaking yesterday afternoon, Evatt confirmed the club had made a report to the FA and referee’s body the PGMOL, detailing their side of events in Saturday’s stormy game at Port Vale.

But the Wanderers boss accepts that he might have to curb his behaviour in the future, as he prepares for a game in which he will not be able to have a direct influence from the touchline.

“I am disappointed,” he said of the suspension. “There were obvious and valid reasons behind the way I reacted as I did – and I don’t need to discuss them right now – but it is a fine line.

“I don’t want to lose a piece of myself. I am emotional, I do care and I do want to win. And you saw it with Tuchel and Conte at the weekend, two magnificent coaches, but it can boil over because everyone wants the best for their team.

“There does have to be a line, though, and it can’t be to the detriment of the team. And me not being on the touchline is not helping my team. They need me there.

“I am disappointed and there are things I possibly need to control better. Football is an emotional sport and you know me well enough now, sometimes it does boil over.

“I am a young manager too, maybe people forget that, and I am trying to work on myself and improve.”

Bad blood between Wanderers and Morecambe is well documented in recent seasons and the Shrimps have usually proven difficult opponents.

Asked whether he had reinforced the need for discipline on the pitch to his players, Evatt said he hoped they could play their natural game without the need to change.

“We were having a discussion between the coaches in the office this morning and we genuinely don’t know which way to go,” he said.

“We could ask them to run around with their hands in the air and don’t touch anyone, or do we tell them to do what every other team seems to do and feel contact, to go down, and whatever else.

“I don’t know what the answer is – but I think we just need to be ourselves, focus on our own jobs, roles and responsibilities and hopefully that is enough to win the game.

“We have been on the rough end of a couple of decisions already and people tell me they even themselves out, so hopefully that will be the case.”