Speaking to The Bolton News, Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has challenged those omitted from the club’s EFL squad list to get their heads down and show they deserve a spot.
Following the January transfer window, EFL clubs submitted their revised squad lists last week.
Bolton Wanderers opted to omit two players from the squad for the second half of the season, defenders Jak Hickman and Jamie Mascoll.
Since joining last summer, both Hickman and Mascoll have struggled for game time. Across all competitions, the full-backs have played seven and nine times respectively.
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Now, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has opened up on the decision to exclude the defensive duo from the squad.
Speaking to The Bolton News, Evatt insisted this is not the end of the duo’s Bolton Wanderers careers. He challenged the pair to show they deserve spots in a ‘very competitive’ squad.
“We are limited to the numbers we can have and had to make a decision on the players we registered and those we didn’t initially because of our transfer targets in the window. But, as you can see, there is still space in the squad to re-register once they get themselves back into the group.
“But it is down to them to get their head down, prove it and get into this squad at the moment because it is very competitive.”
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With Evatt leaving the door open for the duo to return from the fringers of the squad, it will be interesting to see how they fare in the second half of the season.
Since joining last summer, 22-year-old Hickman has netted one goal and laid on one assist, with his last League Two appearance coming in October.
As for Mascoll, the former Wycombe Wanderers full-back has found the back of the net once. He scored in a 3-2 EFL Trophy win over Newcastle United’s U23s, last featuring in the league in mid-December.
