"Make or break" - Emile Heskey reveals honest Ian Evatt, Bolton Wanderers verdict | OneFootball

Emile Heskey spoke exclusively to Football League World about Bolton Wanderers and Ian Evatt

Former Bolton Wanderers forward Emile Heskey has declared that Ian Evatt is at a decisive stage of his time with the club.

Evatt has managed to hold out a long tenure by today's standards, having been in the Bolton dugout since 2020 after joining from Barrow.

He took Bolton out of League Two at the first time of asking as they finished in third place behind Cheltenham Town and Cambridge United during the 2020/21 campaign. Bolton have been competitive in League One ever since under Evatt, recording more than 70 points in each of his three seasons at third-tier level.

Of course, two of those campaigns resulted in finishes inside the top-six, although Bolton have twice fallen short in the play-offs. Losing across two legs to Barnsley in the 2022/23 League One play-offs was naturally a blow, but they went again the following season.

Indeed, many will argue that Bolton should have really gained automatic promotion after finishing the season with just nine losses and 87 points to their name - only five behind second-placed Derby County - although they were forced to contend with the lottery of play-off action once again and made it all the way to the final.

However, they were cruelly put to the sword by Oxford United and slumped to a 2-0 loss on Wembley Way, with Evatt coming under scrutiny for failing to guide Bolton back to the Championship from two meaningful attempts.

Ian Evatt's start to the season at Bolton Wanderers

Bolton initially struggled to pick themselves up and embarked upon a troubled start to the 2024/25 season, winning just one of their opening four games.

The most damning defeat, of course, came in September as they fell to a chastening 4-0 loss at home to potential promotion rivals Huddersfield Town, leaving many supporters to turn against Evatt.

He ended up staying on beyond the Huddersfield defeat and, it is worth noting, results have improved as of late. Wanderers have not lost in divisional action since, scoring two goals or more in each of their last five League One games to go up to 11th place, though supporters are still skeptical about the boss and the pressure remains.

They will face a real limitus test this evening when they travel to St Andrews @ Knighthead Park for a showdown with league leaders Birmingham City before hosting Peterborough on Saturday afternoon.

Bolton have not faced off against any opposition likely to be in or around the top-six since their loss to Huddersfield last month, so locking horns with both Birmingham and Peterborough will be a timely test of their credentials and, for some, a determinant of whether Evatt can have this side keeping chase with the probable promotion pack.

Emile Heskey's verdict on Ian Evatt's future at Bolton Wanderers

Heskey, who earned 62 caps for England and played for the likes of Leicester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa across a storied top-flight career, wound down his playing days at Bolton.

The former striker spent a season-and-a-half with Bolton between 2014 and 2016 when they were in the Championship, returning three goals from 48 appearances.

Heskey is still keeping tabs on the final club of his career, though, and he believes that the next two matches could prove decisive to Evatt's tenure at Bolton.

"Yes, it is a make-or-break," Heskey exclusively told Football League World.

"The reality is that it’s make or break for every manager when you’re going through a [tough period], especially when you’ve had two very close bites at the cherry to get up and now this is the third time lucky.

"If it doesn’t go well this time and anything goes bad, it intensifies. I wouldn’t say he’s on borrowed time because he’s done a fantastic job, but there does come a time where you say ‘let’s look at what’s next and part ways’.

"They’ll be looking in the background and figuring out what’s next."