Opportunity Knocks For Whites

Ian Evatt is relishing the chance to put the record straight at Accrington.

Wanderers go to Stanley on Saturday after successive away defeats in League One.

The Whites steadied the ship last weekend with a point from their 0-0 draw at home to Barnsley which leaves them outside the top six only on goals scored.

And Evatt now sees the trip to the Wham Stadium to tackle John Coleman’s men as the ideal way to make amends for the 1-0 losses at Cheltenham Town and Forest Green which brought to an end a four-match winning streak at the start of the month.

“What John does there is incredible, with what he works with and the way the club’s run is first class,” said the Wanderers’ manager.

“They get the very most of themselves and they should be rightly applauded for what they achieve year upon year.

“They are always a difficult team to play against, always competitive, always in games and it’s always intimidating to go and play there.

“We know exactly what we’re going to face and we have to stand up to it.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to really lay the ghosts to rest from Forest Green and Cheltenham and go out there and show what we can do in these types of games.”

Evatt added: “If you’re not up for the fight at Accrington, you lose. It’s as simple as that.

“You have to be mentally correct and you have to be physically correct because they will ask you questions.

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“You need to stand up to it and make sure you compete and then hopefully we can add our quality into the game and make sure we’re on top.

“We’re under no illusion this is going to be a tough game for us, but it’s a great opportunity for us to also go out there and show what he can do.”

Wanderers lost 1-0 at Accrington last December as part of a bleak mid-winter run at a time when they’re playing resources were seriously stretched.

An excellent January transfer window then revived the Whites’ fortunes as they laid the foundations for a planned challenge at the top end of League One this season.

Among the new recruits were striker Dion Charles from Stanley and goalkeeper James Trafford, who started last season on loan with the Reds.

They have since been key men for the Whites and Evatt insists neither has anything to prove on their return to their former club, who are currently sitting 16th in the table.

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“Dion had a lot of success there but then it ended in a difficult way for him,” said the Whites’ boss, who expects striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson to shake off a knock picked up in Tuesday night's 3-0 Papa Johns Trophy win over Leeds to add to his striking options.

“James didn’t have the best of times there but has come here since and been excellent for us and we’ve been excellent for him.

“There’s nothing to prove for either of them – just concentrate on the job in hand, make sure you go and focus on your own individual roles within our team and apply yourselves correctly.

“We think they’re both very good players and we hope they go there and show that on Saturday.”

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