Ian Evatt admits his return to Wanderers will be emotional just over a year on from his exit – but is fully focused on the task at hand with Blackpool.
Evatt spent four-and-a-half-years with the Whites, winning promotion from League Two and lifting the Papa Johns Trophy.
“(I look back at it) with immense pride. To have a 50 per cent win ratio over nearly five years, promotion, a cup win and back-to-back play-off campaigns,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.
“There was a lot of success there, we broke records. Obviously, the last few months didn’t go how I wanted them to go but we still weren’t a million miles off it.
“But everything has to come to an end. I am extremely proud that I have been there and managed that club.
“It is a massive football club with huge expectancy, and I think I did OK. I have moved on now and everyone knows what this club means to me, I have got my dream job in many aspects. I wanted to come back and manage this football club, and I am getting the opportunity to do that.
“Obviously, it will be slightly emotional for me because I spent so long there and met some brilliant people at Bolton.
“But come Saturday at 3 o’clock, I want to win and that is just how it is. We will do whatever it takes to win within the rules of the game.”
Evatt took charge at Blackpool in October with the side sitting bottom of the table. They are now in 17th place and two points above the drop zone.
When asked if he expected a warm reception, Evatt replied: “I don’t expect anything. Honestly, I am just grateful for having the opportunity to manage that football club.
“Obviously, things come to an end and there is no ill-feeling from my part. We shared a lot of good memories together.
“But as I said, when I rock up into the stadium on Saturday I am there to do a job for my team, a team I hold very dear to my heart. I will be there to fight for the lads in every way I can.”
Evatt departed Wanderers by mutual consent in January 2025 and had a spell out of the game before returning to Bloomfield Road.
When asked if his exit came at the right time, Evatt reflected: “I think so. Nobody wants to have that but perspective is always important in football, and time out has given me that perspective. I put so much into that football club for four-and-a-half years and I needed a rest, I needed to refresh.
“The hardest job in football is trying to improve yourself while you are in post because it is so demanding, challenging, it’s 24/7.
“I have had time to think and look back on what went well, what didn’t go so well and try to improve myself with that. I do feel like I have made improvements.
“Maybe they haven’t all come to the fore yet because we are kind of in a fire fight since the end of October.
“But I think, long term, everyone will see the fruits of that time I spent and hopefully will be coming back here in a year or two with a completely different situation on our hands.
“But for now, as I said, I am incredibly grateful for the time I had there. I think I left in the right manner, with my head held high, and did whatever I needed to do for myself and for that football club. I can sleep at night knowing I absolutely did that to the best of my abilities.”
The Bolton has seen plenty of change since Evatt’s exit, although there are still some players he knows rather well.
“They are good,” he said. “A lot of the players I know, obviously, but they have recruited really well. Obviously, invested heavily in the squad, scored a lot of late goals, they don’t stop running, an extremely aggressive team out of possession and dangerous with the ball.
“They have loads of attacking threats. It’s as tough as it gets, it always is. Away at Bolton, we know how it is going to look and it is all about who executes on the day. In terms of games, it’s probably the most difficult away game we can face.”
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