BOLTON’S play-off dreams had ended not 15 minutes earlier, tears had been shed, but many of the 3,000 fans were still singing in the away end, regardless of their disappointment.

A suited Ian Evatt walked purposefully from the tunnel to a small cordoned-off press area in the shadow of the main stand, looking like he had a message.

Over the course of 180 minutes against Barnsley his side had not done themselves justice. A 1-1 draw at home had been a patchy, nervous performance, and though they controlled large spells of the second leg their inability to break down their hosts had been symptomatic of their goalscoring issues as a whole.

Within a few sentences it was clear that Evatt’s mind had moved past the football he had just witnessed and on to his next task, making Wanderers into a team which could avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs altogether the following year.

“We have to come back bigger, better and stronger,” he said. “Expectations are going to change now. People are going to expect us to be in the top two next year and I don’t see why we can’t be. But we cannot leave a single stone unturned.”

Operation Championship, as it was semi-seriously labelled behind the scenes, was born there. On Tuesday night, at the same compact South Yorkshire stadium, its effectiveness will be given its truest test to date.

The away end will be packed again, Bolton’s remarkable support has been a constant throughout a campaign in which the team has spent just 30 per cent of their time occupying an automatic promotion spot.

Part of that has been because of an inflated fixture schedule – cup involvements and international football forcing a raft of rearrangements, and two games called-off after they began for circumstances beyond anyone’s control.

Counting those matches against Cheltenham and Cambridge, this will be Bolton’s 18th game of 2024. Barnsley, by comparison, have played just 11.

Pressure to realise the club’s promotion target has been ever-present but was ramped up noticeably in the last month as injuries and suspension bit, and performances suffered. Defeats against Blackpool and Wigan bruised egos, as did the criticism that accompanied them.

By Evatt’s own admission, a punishing few weeks have taken their toll. Just as he did last May, he has looked to the summer, only this time the connotations felt less positive. He has put everything into a promotion charge, so have his players, and should it prove unsuccessful there will surely be a period of reflection and contemplation for all involved.

Barnsley’s recent form has been solid and ominous. News that they were being held by Wycombe on Saturday was greeted by an optimistic cheer when the scores were read out at the Toughsheet during the half time interval but as the Tykes, Pompey, Derby and Peterborough all racked up victories by the end of the day, their results served to limit the good vibes as Bolton too returned to winning ways against Cambridge United.

Wanderers still have to play every single one of their rivals before they and Evatt can press “reset” in the summer and get a well-deserved rest. And whilst that difficult run-in brings out cold sweats among some of the supporters, it has been encouraging to hear the likes of Ricardo Santos and Aaron Collins talk about it as an opportunity.

Bolton still have their destiny in their own hands. Indeed, nothing will be concluded regardless of the result at Oakwell, as there are 30 points still to play for. But Tuesday night’s game carries with it a sense of jeopardy that we have not felt since the play-off semi-final, and any form of positive result would have a galvanising effect, not to mention push the Whites back into the top two.

Wanderers carry a greater goal threat than they did back in May. Dion Charles may not be fit to feature but in his absence from the starting line-up this season the team has scored 34 times in 14 games in all competitions, failing to hit the target three times, of which two have been against Wigan.

Joel Coleman also claimed his first league clean sheet since taking on the gloves from the injured Nathan Baxter, a well-timed dose of stability if ever there was one.

Aaron Collins’ first goal and Paris Maghoma’s inventive display against Cambridge were also shots in the arm for a team that should be grabbing positive vibes wherever they can right now.

It may be up for discussion whether they are bigger, better or stronger than last season, but Bolton are certainly better placed with 11 games to go. Time to roll up their sleeves once again.