IAN Evatt is used to fielding questions on a weekly basis from the media – but this week he opened up to the Wanderers fans in a special trip to see the Lancaster Whites.

More than 80 members of the well-established group gathered at the Boot and Shoe to welcome the Bolton boss and quiz him on selection decisions, transfer choices and his plans for this season’s promotion push.

The Lancaster Whites travel home and away each weekend in number and are one of the largest affiliated supporter networks in the country, celebrating their 26th anniversary earlier this year.

Many famous names from the club’s past have taken the trip up the M6 to attend their regular social evenings and Evatt said he had been happy to open things up to the floor.

“It was an enjoyable evening and it’s important I spend time doing that,” he said. “I love talking football.

“There are always weird and wonderful questions but I always try and be honest when answering them and as open as I can be.

“I am comfortable with the decisions I have made, there are reasons why I do things at certain times, and I’ll never get every single one right, there isn’t a man alive that does.

“We’ll own up when we get things wrong and take some comfort when we do get things right but the people there were very respectful, they are very proud of what the club has done over the last few years.”

Speaking face-to-face with the supporters and hearing opinions on events at the club was also an eye-opener for the Wanderers boss, compared to the feedback supplied through the prism of social media.

“They only get snippets online – and you know what football is like, it can be Chinese whispers, then the rumours fester and people get ideas in their head that isn’t necessarily the correct one. Sometimes it is nice to set the record straight,” he said.

“I’m happy to talk about football and the decisions I have made here, what this club has already achieved, and it is great talking to a group of supporters who are backing us every single week.”