Bolton boss Ian Evatt addresses speculation linking him with Blackpool job for the first time

The Blackpool legend was naturally linked with the head coach vacancy at Bloomfield Road following Neil Critchley’s surprise departure.

While it’s understood the 40-year-old would have entertained a conversation about the role, the Seasiders never made an official approach for their former defender and he was never thought to be in the frame.

Addressing the speculation for the first time, Evatt has emphatically denied any notion he was interested in the Blackpool job.

“There was a lot of talk, there were conversations. But have I been tested? Absolutely not,” he told Bolton News.

“Was I ever going to be tested? Absolutely not.

“I love my job, I love the players that I work with, but it is easy for me to sit here and say that but it is the honest truth.

“This club gave me an opportunity and it has shown me loyalty at times when it has been difficult. I think we have seen the benefits of that.

“There was never a question or thought in my mind that I would leave this football club, not one, and that is how it is going to stay.

“I have a goal and an ambition and that can all be achieved here, together. That was one of the reasons I came here in the first place.

“I don’t want to be a manager who moves here, there and everywhere else. I want to be a manager who creates a legacy and achieves something. That is shared with Sharon (Brittan) and the rest of the ownership group.”

Evatt has performed well with Bolton, guiding them to promotion from League Two during the 2020/21 season before finishing in ninth in the third tier last term.

“I was on holiday at the time when it was all kicking off and I was laughing about it all because it was nothing, it was a nothing story, really,” he added.

“People asked why I didn’t make a statement. I don’t need to. My statement is every press conference and every day I work here. I am fully invested and fully bought in, and that is not going to change.”