Wanderers boss Ian Evatt insists neither side will be playing for a draw ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Ipswich.

It could prove to be an important fixture in the title race, with both teams aiming to gain ground on the current top two.

Ipswich are currently third in the table and have won four matches on the bounce following Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory against Accrington.

Evatt has been impressed with the Tractor Boys this season and says they have recruited well under Kieran McKenna.

The Bolton boss said: “Kieran is a guy I respect a lot and I think it’s mutual. I think we respect each other’s team and the type of football we try to play. 

“Ipswich have got some very good players. Their recruitment has been excellent and the brand they play is very pleasing on the eye, no doubt about it. 

“Statistically they are doing a lot of things right, which is a good sign. But neither me nor Kieran goes anywhere to draw games, Saturday will be no different.”

He added: “It has been a good week and I have been happy to get them on the grass and working on some finer details.  

“We have looked into Ipswich’s strengths and weaknesses more than we usually would. Of course, we look at every opposition and formulate gameplans, but with the top teams you need to be a tiny bit more cautious or pragmatic, however you want to call it.

“We needed to figure out what we are going to do with and without the ball and we will see if that comes to fruition on Saturday.”

Wanderers will be aiming to return to winning ways following last weekend’s goalless draw at Morecambe.

The Whites also suffered a 3-1 defeat at Portsmouth, but Evatt believes they are still in a decent position heading into the business end of the season.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that we have lost momentum,” the manager explained. “I think last week the point at Morecambe will end up being a valuable one.  

“If you look at their home record, I think they have lost once at home since October and two all season, which is really strong form. 

“On the day we probably shaded it, but we didn’t take our chance first half and our dominance second-half we should have capitalised on, but we didn’t. 

“I don’t think we should be too down about it. That week was as tough as anything coming off the back of what we had done.

“Portsmouth away, Morecambe away, it is not ideal how it fell but other teams are going to have to go through that sort of run as well. 

“We just need to focus on ourselves and be confident. We know what we can do here at home.”