Striking the right balance between defensive structure and attacking balance has proved problematic for Wanderers in recent weeks.

Ian Evatt opened with a positive front three of Dapo Afolayan, Dion Charles and Kieran Sadlier against Barnsley in the FA Cup on Saturday but still found quality chances hard to come by – not to mention his midfield being twice opened up in transition as the visitors raced into a two-goal lead in the first half.

The manager’s preferred shape, 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, has had its own issues. Defensively, Bolton’s record has been sound but a lack of goals has been magnified by the fact two of the side’s most reliable goal-scorers, Afolayan and Sadlier, fit comfortably into the system.

Evatt has maintained that formation is not the definitive cause, nor cure, to any of the recent ills. Moreover, the Bolton boss believes some of the detail coached into his players was lost during a busy October, adding to the inconsistency.

“We have to find in between,” he said after the final whistle on Saturday. “What I will say is yeah, we had loads of attackers on the pitch (against Oxford) but if that’s detrimental to what we’re doing against the ball, then that’s not good for anybody.

“What I will say, also, is for all that we got final third entries in the first half, we didn’t score. We still had opportunities to score and we didn’t take them, so I don’t think it’s the shape, I don’t think it’s the 3-5-2 that’s affecting our goalscoring.

“I think it’s just decisions in the final third and a bit of composure. We need to work really hard on that on the training pitch and we will do, we believe in our strikers.”

The form of Bolton’s strikers has come in for particular scrutiny. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson added his fifth goal of the campaign against Barnsley but only two have been scored in the league.

Likewise, Dion Charles’s consolation against Oxford United at the end of last month was his first goal from open play in the league this season.

Evatt has repeatedly stuck up for his front men and added again at the weekend that the quality of service has to improve if they are to improve their goal return.

“It’s not just the strikers, it’s the balls in the box,” he said. “I thought our crossing against Barnsley was a lot better and we looked like we were getting on the end of things more, which is something that we’ve spoke about and worked on a little bit this week.

“We’ve got a free week now to get our heads down, concentrate solely on Cambridge and put things right.”