IT is 12 months since Wanderers made the decision to launch a B Team to bridge the gap between their youth ranks and the seniors, and Ian Evatt admits the new venture has not been plain sailing.

The dissolution of a successful development squad system in 2019/20 which had produced players like Rob Holding, Zach Clough, Josh Vela, Ronan Darcy and Luca Connell had been a controversial move at the time – and one which was quickly reversed once Bolton’s owners and Evatt had left League Two behind.

A team was entered into the Central League last season- but suffered badly from a lack of resources, prompting one of two conclusions; either Wanderers could re-tick all the boxes and revive the Under-23s, or go the less travelled road and follow Huddersfield Town, Southampton and Brentford in establishing a specialised B Team, along with designated playing budgets and staff.

That team currently sits fifth in the league table having won three of its nine games in the competition thus far. The squad – assembled in double-quick time from a handful of trials and free agents – has remained relatively stable throughout the season but no player has yet progressed to play a single minute in League One.

“It is far too early to say whether it has been a success or not,” Ian Evatt told The Bolton News.

“When we decided to go down this route it limited the recruitment options because we literally had a month to six weeks to find virtually a whole new squad.

“They came from the length and breadth of the country and most of them were complete strangers to each other and Matt Craddock was new to the role as well.

“This season has very much been a learning curve. We have looked at what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and I think next season we will be in a much better place.”

Although no B Team player has yet pushed into the league squad, Conor Carty’s late equaliser in the Papa Johns Trophy group at Tranmere effectively earned his team a point – and one which eventually pushed them towards Wembley.

Ex-Norwich midfielder Nelson Khumbeni has recently featured on the bench for Bolton, and also came on as a late substitute in the Carabao Cup win against Salford City early in the season.

Evatt has also brought full-back Sam Inwood in to the first team group for a closer look, and the homegrown youngster has been included as 18th man in a couple of matchday squads.

“Nelson is one of the success stories, he has been impressive all season and I think he is only going to get better,” the manager explained.

“Young Sam (Inwood) has a really bright future and has only just turned 17. I’m very excited about working with him too. His attitude is absolutely first class.

“What you tend to find is that the kids who have that kind of approach to the game, not just training but in everything they do around the building and how they carry themselves, there is a direct correlation for me – if you are professional off the pitch then you also carry it on the pitch, and Sam is one good example of a young man who goes about his day-to-day work really impressively.”

For several B Team players, loan moves have been the way forward.

Carty recently moved to Ireland to play for St Patrick’s Athletic and Connor Stanley has been at Bamber Bridge in the Northern Premier.

Adam Senior is currently at Halifax Town in the National League, while Luke Hutchinson (Bamber Bridge), Matty Grivosti (Radcliffe), Arran Pettifer (Atherton Colls), Matthew Tweedley (Lancaster) and Max Conway (Buxton) have been able to get loan experience at the same time as training with the club.

Even though Evatt believes there is scope for improvement, he is pleased to see the club’s young players start to assemble a football CV under his watch.

“The most important thing for me, whether it is players who we sign and try to develop through our B Team or the ones who have progressed from our youth team into the B Team system, I have a duty to try and get them a career in football,” he said.

“Now that might not necessarily be with us, we hope it is, but really there is very little chance that they are all going to make the grade with us.

“What we can do is give them the right coaching and the right information to try and get them a career somewhere.”