Evatt: We Shouldn’t Be Anything But Positive

Ian Evatt is looking forward to a big finish to the season after seeing his side get their points’ tally moving again.

Wanderers were unable to deliver a knock-out blow to relegation fighters Morecambe in a 0-0 draw at the Mazuma Stadium.

But after defeats in their last two away league games, the Whites put a useful point on the board with an 18th clean sheet of the season.

And with his side still in fourth and the thick of the League One play-off race, Evatt insists there is much to be optimistic about.

“If you can’t win the game you shouldn’t lose and we didn’t lose today. It should have been the same on Tuesday night (at Portsmouth),” said the Wanderers’ boss.

“Away from home, a clean sheet and a draw is definitely a point gained. We’re on 63 points now with 10 games to go. We’ve got 10 very good games and a cup final to come.

“We shouldn’t be anything but positive. The club is in a really good place. We’re really competitive.

“We shouldn’t be down about anything. Let’s keep the group positive, keep the fans positive, keep the club positive and keep moving forwards. We’re excited about the finish.”

Wanderers face mouth-watering games against promotion-chasing Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday in their next two fixtures before an international break and the Papa Johns Trophy final.

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And Evatt is relishing those challenges after a run of eight games in four weeks ended with the stalemate at Morecambe, where Wanderers dominated for long periods without being able to find a winner against a side which has been beaten at home only once since early October.

“The group is getting stronger all the time with players returning,” added Evatt, who expects striker Vic Adeboyejo to miss not much more than a week with a slight hamstring strain.

“We want to win every game and we had chances to win the game. We didn’t and their home record isn’t too bad. It’s always a tough place to come.

“We had some really big moments, particularly in the first half where we should score.

“We probably had the best chance of the game with Shola and we had one or two real good counter-attacks we were a bit wasteful with.

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“Then we were really dominant at the start of the second half and, again, you have to score in that good spell.

“The point is a brilliant result for them. They are fighting for their lives so the longer it goes on the more bodies they’ll have behind the ball and on a difficult surface it’s challenging to break down.

“The time to score was first half and at the start of the second half and we didn’t do it. But I think that’s a point gained in the grand scheme of things. We have to view it that way.

“It’s been a really tough period for the players with very little time for recovery and very little time for work on the grass.

“I think when we don’t do the work on the grass sometimes we lose a little bit of rhythm. We’ll be able to get back to that now and freshen the lads up, re-group and look forward to a really good game against Ipswich.”

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