WANDERERS have been warned that league position should count for nothing when they face Cheltenham Town this weekend.

Wade Elliott’s side have won just one of their opening seven games and currently reside in the bottom three – but Ian Evatt has seen enough of the Robins over the past couple of seasons to know the Gloucestershire men will be stubborn opponents.

Bolton have won on their last two trips to Whaddon Road but were held at home in the corresponding fixture on both occasions.

After winning the League Two title in 2021/22, Cheltenham finished 15th last season to record their highest-ever league finish.

But the loss of established manager Michael Duff has given his successor, Elliott, a big task to emulate the same level of success.

“It is a tough act to follow,” Evatt observed. “I wouldn't take any notice of them being in the bottom four, the same as I wouldn’t if they were in the top four. We are only seven games in and it’s a 46-game season. It is always a difficult place to go, tight, compact.

“They have obviously evolved a little bit since Michael Duff left. We know them probably better than most with playing against them in League Two and then League One.

“Since Wade took over from Michael Duff there are some similarities there in the way they play but I think he wants to put his own stamp on it.

“They are all difficult games. There are no easy ones. We are Bolton Wanderers, wherever we go, we carry expectation but we have to concentrate on our own performance levels and manage those expectations, but if we can perform to the levels we can get to then I think we are a good team.”

Wanderers will also carry the extra pressure of being marginal favourites to Cheltenham, a town which boasts a rich traditional of beating the odds.

“For them it is a good game because our away fans always travel in huge number and there is always a great atmosphere when Bolton Wanderers are in town,” Evatt said.

“It will always feel like a big game when the attendance is that bit bigger, the atmosphere is that bit better, and it can increase the home team’s performance level. We have seen that happen a lot.

“We have to rise to it as well because this sort of game is a marker for where we are at and how competitive we are going to be.

“The best teams in this division will go to Cheltenham, compete, and win. And we want to be one of those team.

“You have to go there and compete, first and foremost, and then hopefully our quality will shine through in the end. But it is a difficult game, there are no easy ones in this league.”