DRIVING higher standards has become the mantra at Wanderers after Friday night’s resolute point at Wycombe – with Ian Evatt calling on his players to take the lead.

Desperate to avoid the peaks and troughs experienced in the first half of the season, the Bolton boss is striving for a consistent finish to the year and a strong 2025.

Upcoming home games against Barnsley and Lincoln City will give a chance for the Whites to break into the top six and set themselves up for what Evatt insists still remains a chase for the top two positions in the New Year.

But in order to meet the required level to catch Wycombe and Birmingham at the top, he feels his players have to raise their game as high as it will go, on and off the field.

“We have to be more proactive and we have talked about our standards,” he told The Bolton News. “If you accept a poor standard, that is what will be, that is what you’ll get.

“I am talking about daily habits. The coaching staff and the manager are not there all the time, so they have to hold each other accountable and when standards start to slip, that is the time to call it out.

“I would argue when things are going good you should be calling it out because then you set those natural habits into Saturday. But when you come off that level you get those huge dips and lows. That is what I am saying, how I am trying to educate the players, it is not about what you do on a matchday, it is what you do every single day of your life.

“The tap should always stay on. It isn’t a magic thing that you can turn on and off. If it is always on then naturally you get performances like that one all the time.

“That is my frustration, and certainly the fans’ frustration, so we have to learn, grow and understand.

“This is a squad of players who are all capable and this (Wycombe) is our first clean sheet for a while, so we have to be better. We want people pushing for that shirt.”

One point could have been three at the bitter end at Adams Park, with two late chances for Gethin Jones and George Thomason going begging in stoppage time.

Evatt remained pleased with the performance, however, given the fact that several players were unavailable through suspension and injury.

He said: “Gethin has a huge chance before it with his left foot and if it was on his right he probably scores and for (Thomason’s shot) to go through all those bodies and not take a nick and go in is unfortunate. The keeper them almost parries it to one of three of our bodies waiting for a tap-in, and that would have been just the best night, but I am proud of the players and what they have done, how the have come together this week. We showed there is a lot of fight left in us yet.”

Wanderers were also able to name Carlos Mendes Gomes on the bench in what was his first appearance in the squad since rupturing his Achilles against Wigan Athletic in February.

”It is great to have him back,” Evatt said. “It was one of those games where he could probably have impacted it but he only played his first minutes on Wednesday and we have to be really cautious we don’t go too soon with him and break him.

“I was itching, to be honest, and I saw Matt Barrass (Bolton’s physio) staring me down, but, yeah, it is great to have him back and he is going to be a big player for us.”