Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins says he has 'nothing but good things' to say about Eoin Toal after the defender's move to Bolton Wanderers becomes a step closer.
29.06.2022 - 00:57 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Bolton Wanderers started off their pre-season schedule in style by beating Longridge Town 9-0.
Wanderers took the lead in the first half through Kyle Dempsey, before Elias Kachunga fired home a second not long after. Amadou Bakayoko added a sublime third before half-time.
Ian Evatt changed his side completely for the second half and made 11 changes. Striker Dion Charles bagged a brace and was teed up by Liverpool loanee Conor Bradley on both occasions.
READ MORE:'Music to my ears' - Liverpool's Conor Bradley explains why Bolton Wanderers loan was right for him
George Johnston scored Bolton's sixth before Charles completed his hat trick from the penalty spot after Bradley had been brought down. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Dapo Afolayan also found the back of the net as Wanderers secured victory in emphatic fashion.
Wanderers returned from a week-long pre-season training camp in Portugal over the weekend and Evatt believes the trip had a positive impact on his squad. He belives the players demonstrated the benefits of the camp with their sharpness shown in the win over Longridge.
But despite the win by a large margin, Evatt insists this is just the beginning of what they are hoping to achieve this season. While pleased overall with what he saw, he feels there are also areas to imporve upon, but was pleased with the energy and attitude shown by his players.
He said: “I think it was just important that we saw the fundamentals of what we’ve been working on. Portugal was a fantastic week. The board backed us and it was a very expensive week, but it is pivotal to what we’re trying to do and implement. There’s some tweaks and changes tactically, in and out of possession, and we wanted to see that, along with energy and attitude.
“
Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins says he has 'nothing but good things' to say about Eoin Toal after the defender's move to Bolton Wanderers becomes a step closer.
Ian Evatt was pleased despite his Bolton Wanderers side losing against Carlisle United in pre-season as it illustrated perfectly they will not have it all their own way on the pitch this season and called for a reaction against Huddersfield Town next weekend.
Bolton Wanderers are understood to have had a second bid for defender Eoin Toal accepted by Derry City.
Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt says he has 'no idea' where transfer speculation concerning Declan John and Wrexham has emerged from as he rubbished the rumour.
Ian Evatt has revisted playing Dapo Afolayan in a strike partnership for Bolton Wanderers in pre-season to give some food for thought ahead of the new campaign.
Bolton Wanderers drew against Stockport County in the club's latest pre-season friendly.
Jack Iredale believes Bolton Wanderers will have a step up in their pre-season preparations when they take on League Two side Stockport County this afternoon.
Bolton Wanderers made it two wins out of two in pre-season so far with a triumph over Chorley.
Jack Iredale believes Bolton Wanderers cannot use the pitch as an excuse for a tough second half display in the win over Chorley and believes they will have difficult surfaces they must deal with playing on in the upcoming campaign if they want to be successful.
Ian Evatt says Bolton Wanderers were well aware that Kyle Dempsey was not fully 100% fit when he made the January move but believes the transfer enabled him to integrate into the club and has come back flying in pre-season.
Ian Evatt believes Conor Bradley's coaching at Liverpool means playing for Bolton Wanderers comes naturally to him as the Wanderers boss believes the two clubs share vision for how the game is played.
Bolton Wanderers made £500,000 from the iFollow streaming service last season and the League One side is keen to continue using the platform for all games apart from 3pm Saturday kick-offs and maintain the domestic blackout for those fixtures.
George Johnston will embrace the challenge brought by the increased competition from Jack Iredale joining Bolton Wanderers this summer and believes a strong squad is what the players want.
Former Bolton Wanderers attacker Marcus Maddison has joined non-league side Darlington.
First half team
Conor Bradley pointed to the conversations he had with Ian Evatt about the style of play at Bolton Wanderers and the desire for the club to achieve promotion as key factors behind his loan move from Liverpool.
Bolton Wanderers have already sold more season tickets for the upcoming campaign since the club exited the Premier League.
Ian Evatt has opened up on missing out on a couple of transfer window targets as he explained that Bolton Wanderers will have to be patient for further incomings this summer.
Ian Evatt believes Josh Sheehan will be like a 'new signing' for Bolton Wanderers this season after recovering from a ruptured ACL.
Bolton Wanderers will take on Championship side Watford as the club announced its latest pre-season friendly.