Ian Evatt believed his side showed what they're capable of in today's Papa Johns Trophy Final triumph.
Here is every word the Trotters boss said post-match...
‘We’re certainly capable’
“I’m really proud of the players to perform like that on a big stage like it was today. It’s incredible. We’re certainly capable. It’s great credit to them to play with that freedom in a huge high-pressure game. I’m delighted. Both clubs selling the tickets they did is great credit to the competition.”
‘Energy benefitted us’
“We always wanted to start fast. The last couple of weeks, I’ve really felt the group has re-energised. We had eight or nine games in February and at the end of it, we were so fatigued and needed a break to reset.
“The last two or three weeks, the training has gone back to where I expect it to me and the energy has improved. When you’re playing Saturday, Tuesday, you lose a bit or rhythm and fluidity when you’re not training as much. Today just goes to shoe exactly what we’re capable of.”
‘An exciting team to watch’
“It’s difficult to play like that because we’re not direct or physical; we scored from two set pieces today which isn’t normally our strength.
“What we are is a very exciting team to watch. If you give us chances, we know that we back ourselves to take the chances we create and we managed to do that today. We’ve managed to work on some in-possession detail which we worked on for this game and the players execute that game plan to perfection.”
‘The Club was broken’
“We’re so proud that we could do it for them. They’ve been through so much the last few year; there was a disconnect between the fanbase and the Football Club. Most Football Clubs are the heartbeat of a community. When I first came here, the Club was completely broken. It needed a full reset from top to bottom.
“Along the way, there’s been some pain, hurt and suffering – we’ve had good runs and bad runs but that’s football. What we’ve seen in the last couple of years, and it’s case in point today, there’s trust and belief.”
‘We have to work hard to return’
“You don’t get to play at Wembley very often so I’m going to let them enjoy tonight. It’s going to be hard to get the players back down to earth. We have an opportunity to get back here in May but we have to work very hard to make sure we get into the Play-Offs first and foremost. That’s our aim and our ambition.”
‘Embracing big moments’
“I’m very proud of the result against the opposition today because we’ve suffered against some of the top teams and lost out on the big moments. Today was the first time where we smelt blood and took the moments and the chances and grew even more and gained in confidence. As part of our own development and process, I’m really pleased.”
