IAN Evatt believes he can get more out of both his current left-back options.

Declan John opened his goal account for the season in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Cambridge United and has battled his way back from the fringes of the squad to become a regular starter since Jack Iredale picked up an injury at the start of the year.

Randell Williams was signed in the winter window from Hull City and was initially picked ahead of John – but has since struggled to hold down a regular start.

Evatt is weighing up which of his options to use in this weekend’s game at Oxford United but says both players have scope for improvement.

“Declan has always been a really good attacker and created things for us, we just needed some more buy-in on the defensive aspects, winning his duels, being aggressive, pressing,” he said.

“Randell is quite similar and we are working with them both to get there.

“If they had the pressing intensity of, say, Conor Bradley, added to Declan’s final third qualities, then they are not likely to be a League One player, he’s not at Bolton Wanderers.

“There is a trade off with all of these players, we are just trying to get the best out of them.”

John helped Wanderers improve in the second half against Cambridge, with Evatt hoping his side can keep their width in the same way they did in the second half.

“Sometimes it is position over possession and in the first half we didn’t quite get those positions right,” he said of the opening 45 minutes of Monday’s game. “Second half we were loads better and kept the width, created some one-v-one situations and hit the diagonal pass a lot better, causing problems.

“Getting ahead should have been enough to see the game through but when it is only one and don’t get the second you are always susceptible."

Wanderers head on the road for the next two games, following up their trip to the Kassam Stadium this weekend with another on Tuesday night at Burton Albion.

Monday’s 24,000-plus crowd against Cambridge was the third-highest at this level of football in the club’s history – but the atmosphere proved to be a challenging one, as Bolton struggled to get their game going against their well-drilled opponents. Some of the criticism, says Evatt, went further than it should have done.

“Some spills over,” he said. “One or two individuals to the left of me that are constantly shouting negative things and, for me, it isn’t acceptable. There is no reason for it.

“If you support the team I think you should support them. We are doing the best we can.

“We are fighting for everything and it is really disappointing to hear people moaning, slagging people off, effing and blinding and whatever else. I just don’t think it is necessary.

“But again, it’s football, everyone has an opinion and is entitled to it. For us, it is about trying to keep people positive. We are what we are, we have got what we have got, and we need to find a way to keep getting results.”