Bolton boss Ian Evatt ‘underwhelmed’ by emphatic win against AFC Wimbledon

Bolton boss Ian Evatt was left “underwhelmed” by his team’s emphatic 4-0 win against AFC Wimbledon.

Wanderers’ seventh win in nine games leaves them seven points adrift of the play-offs but eased the pain of a potentially derailing defeat at Burton on Tuesday.

Evatt believed his side could have enjoyed an even greater victory against woeful Wimbledon.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson grabbed his first Bolton goal and his first since December 2020 after 36 minutes from Aaron Morley’s corner.

Dapo Afolayan made it 2-0 after 56 minutes with his 13th of the season, provider Dion Charles drove in his sixth since moving from Accrington after 67 minutes and Amadou Bakayoko completed the scoring three minutes from time.

“I always want more and there is more to come,” said Evatt. “But I was a bit frustrated second half and I am a bit underwhelmed.

“It shows you where we are at when we have won 4-0 at home and I feel like we could have been better.

“I have high expectations and high standards. When you smell blood you should always want more.

“We weren’t as professional as we should have been. I thought we overexpressed ourselves.

“I just think there is so much more to come. We set ourselves a target of wins and points but we are still a long way short.”

Evatt reserved his greatest praise for the club’s non-playing staff who helped clear snow from the pitch in the lead up to the match.

“The performance of the day came from the ground staff, the stewards and volunteers for everything they did to get the game on,” he added.

“I am so appreciative of what they did, that made a huge difference to us and the pitch was immaculate. I am hopeful I can get them a beer.”

Wimbledon have now gone 13 games without a league win and are just one point and one place above the bottom four.

Manager Mark Robinson described the difference in class as “men against boys”.

“We have always been fiercely competitive bar two games this season,” he added. “But that wasn’t the case today and that is worrying.

“We need to regroup and regroup quickly because that was nowhere near good enough.

“Bolton were first to the ball and physically better than us. The manner of the goals was so soft.

“In the end we were lucky to get away with four against. If we play like that, it will be really hard.

“If we play like I know we are capable of then I have no issues at all. If we can get back to the best version of ourselves we can pull away.”