'Smells of aggression' -Ian Evatt on Port Vale away & Bolton Wanderers team rotation message

Published date12 August 2022
The Whites take on the Valiants tomorrow afternoon at Vale Park. Wanderers aim aiming to continue their good start to the season which has given them four points from their first two matches

This weekend's opponents Vale won promotion to League Two via the play-offs last season. Darrell Clarke's side will be aiming to cement their status in the third tier of English football this season.

READ MORE: 'Borderline illegal' -Bolton midfielder Aaron Morley's Vale Park pitch size & Port Vale verdict

Evatt believes Vale Park is one of the most intimidating places he played at during his playing career and says Wanderers know full well what they will encounter. He wants his team to implement their style on the encounter.

The last time Wanderers played Port Vale in league action was the 2020/21 season in League One. The Valiants won a crazy encounter 6-3 at the University of Bolton Stadium before Bolton beat Vale 1-0 in the reverse fixture.

Wanderers have changed dramatically from that 6-3 clash in December with a big change in the squad. Evatt believes it is a marker for how far his side have come since then.

He said: "It is one of the most intimidating places I have played. It just smells of aggression, it just does.

“We know what is coming at Port Vale. There’s no denying it.

“We just have to turn up and make sure we implement our style on them. If we do, we have to back ourselves to win. If we don’t, then we know what will happen.

“I would be interested to see how many players are still around from that game – probably two

“I was still thinking it would be six all in the second half, there were so many chances.

“That game is more of a marker for this club to look back and see how far we have actually travelled.

“It is a good place to be at the moment. But we are in the here and now, there is a lot of football to be played. We can’t allow ourselves to get over-excited or carried away with a couple of good performances, nor a couple of bad ones, we just have to stick together in the good times and the bad.”

Evatt made eight changes for the Carabao Cup first round win against Salford City in midweek. Against Wycombe Wanderers last weekend, three changes were made compared to...

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