Four pushing for recall as Evatt gets welcome selection headache for Blackpool

Aaron Collins, George Thomason, Gethin Jones and Jordi Osei-Tutu are all pushing for a recall as Ian Evatt weighs up his next move against Blackpool.

Collins scored twice against Fleetwood in the Vertu Trophy to further his cause, with Thomason, Jones and Osei-Tutu now completely free from injury and ready to start.

Evatt had eight first team players out of action at one point this season, so finds himself somewhat spoiled for choice for the Seasiders’ visit.

He said: “It’s a nice problem to have and I haven’t necessarily had it too often this season where we’ve had people available and necessary competition for places. This weekend we have that and it’s now down to me to select the right team to go and beat Blackpool – a local derby and one that means a lot to me, so we’ll do all we can to pick the right team and get three points.

“We have to remember one game ago we were top of the form table, and that is something that gets forgotten pretty quickly.

“We have suffered again, and we have done at times in my tenure here, but we have always responded, we need to do that again.”

Evatt made 254 appearances for Blackpool between 2006 and 2013, helping them from League One to the Premier League as a player.

Backroom staff Stephen Crainey and Matt Gilks also played for the Bloomfield Road club at the time, and the Bolton boss says he will enjoy welcoming them to the Toughsheet Stadium.

He said: “It is always nice to come up against a former club and particularly when you have the level of respect I have for that club and fanbase. It was a brilliant time for me in my life and career and I have nothing but positives to say about the place and the fans but I am also professional enough to do my job and to try and get three points.”

Blackpool boss Steve Bruce has never taken charge of a team against Evatt – but such is his managerial longevity, he had managed against Bolton legend Bruce Rioch on four occasions.

This will be the 31st occasion that he has come up against Bolton Wanderers, the last time being in the Sheffield Wednesday dugout in 2019, and the first of which was in 1998 as manager of Sheffield United.

“It’s an absolute pleasure and if I end up having half the career that Steve has had, I will have done a good job and be proud of myself,” Evatt said. “I have a huge amount of respect for him, obviously he is a manager of a club I respect too.”

Evatt’s old Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has recently returned to management with League Two Swindon Town, capturing some headlines by complaining that the club’s training ground was haunted.

“He was at ours last week,” the manager added, “so fingers-crossed he hasn’t done that to us! There are certainly a few ghosts we need to lay to rest from Stockport.

“We allowed them to train at Lostock last Friday. I spoke to the gaffer and it is great he is back in the game, he is one of football’s brilliant characters, so it’s fantastic he got another opportunity and I am sure he will do very well.”