'Everything the gaffer says is usually correct' - McAtee answers Evatt criticism
JOHN McAtee admitted Ian Evatt may have a point when he cast doubt on the dressing room’s mentality after defeat at Rotherham United.
The Wanderers striker scored a late consolation at the New York Stadium but it was not enough to mask the huge disappointment of a lost opportunity to make up ground on the top six.
Fans made their feelings known, with chants and banners calling for Evatt to be sacked as throughout the second half.
The manager turned the spotlight on his own players after the final whistle, however, branding his group “mentally fragile” and questioning whether they were doing enough to earn their place in the team.
McAtee was asked for his response on whether the squad were “too comfortable” after the final whistle at Rotherham.
“Everything the gaffer says is usually correct – he is a very honest person and as players we have to take that on the chin and make sure we improve,” he told The Bolton News.
“We know all season that we have not been up to the standard we know we can be.
“We have got good players in the squad but we have not shown it so far and it’s disappointing.
“The manager has every right to be angry. You have got to remember it is not him stepping out on to the pitch.
“We have let him down a lot of times this season and we have done it again today, so it is up to us lot when we walk over that white line to give everything for the club and it sounds like a broken record, but we’ll try and come back from this again.”
Wanderers have not won away from home at Rotherham since August 1966, and after 18 winless games it now ranks as the most barren venue that Bolton have ever visited in the league.
McAtee felt the Whites had failed to match their hosts physicality throughout the day.
“I think coming away to Rotherham you know what it is going to be, it will be tough, there will be a lot of balls in the air, a lot of set plays and throw ins. You have to do the ugly stuff and I don’t think we did that,” he said.
Wanderers stay 10th but with no other rival team in action they missed their chance to reel in some of the gap between themselves and the promotion picture.
They are now four points outside the top six and go to Lincoln City in the Virtu Trophy on Tuesday night hoping to find a winning note once again.
“It is not impossible, beyond repair,” McAtee reasoned. “It’s kind of now or never and we need to win to get our ideas together and make sure we start putting in better performances. We need that bit of grit to win games and I think we have lost that a little bit, maybe low on confidence and things like that.
“We will rally together and try and come back from it.
“It is difficult, so hard for everyone involved. No-one wants to lose and we have done it a few times this season where we feel like we might come back from it and that we might do well again, then take that step back. Again, he was just telling us we need to be better and he’s right.”
Wanderers supporters showed their anger at Rotherham and pressure on Evatt is now more intense than ever.
Asked for his opinion on the fans’ reaction at the New York Stadium, McAtee added: “Of course they travel in numbers, they pay their money and want to see us do well, which is understandable sometimes. But it is difficult because you want them behind you but sometimes if you don’t give them anything to shout about, they are not going to shout for you, are they?
“I’d just urge them to stick with us and stick with the manager as long as possible.”
