Bolton Wanderers ex-West Ham man Dapo Afolayans goal challenge from manager

DAPO Afolayan can tap into even more goals at Wanderers if he learns how to be a penalty box poacher.

Ian Evatt is desperate to see his top-scorer expand his skillset beyond the spectacular and believes he could be even more effective if he works on his close-range game.

Afolayan grabbed another stunning strike at Rochdale on Tuesday night to take his tally to nine for the season in just 19 appearances.

The last player to achieve the same scoring rate for Bolton by this stage of November was Michael Ricketts at the start of the 2001/2 season in the Premier League.

Evatt is convinced, however, that Afolayan can add even more goals by mixing up his approach.

“He is such a talented young player and when he does stuff like that it is breath-taking,” he said. “But we keep saying to him that scoring those types of goals are not sustainable.

“We want him to get in at the back post, we want him to get tap-ins, we want him to knock one over the line with his backside â€" anything like that.

“He can’t rely on scoring worldie goals, it doesn’t happen like that, so we will work with him to get him in better and more clinical positions.

“But that goal was worthy of any league and any brand of football, he has got that in his locker.”

Afolayan has developed a habit of stirring up the home crowd wherever he goes â€" and was the pantomime villain once again at Spotland.

Evatt sees it as a back-handed compliment for the 24-year-old, who he felt had one of his best games of the season at Rochdale.

“That says to me that he is a good player,” he said of the jeers.

“Home fans normally target the opposition players who are causing them problems, provided he keeps his discipline, keeps his focus and doing the right things he will be a very, very good player.

“There is still improvement there and I thought that game (at Rochdale) was the best he has looked to run in behind. Normally a lot of what he does it to feet, but him, Kacha (Elias Kachunga) and Eoin Doyle were running more and we were progressing quicker because they were making those runs. They have to do that more consistently.”

After feeling down in the dumps at Portsmouth, Evatt hopes the cup win will give his players a boost going into this weekend’s FA Cup first round meeting with Stockport.

“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve and I think we were worthy of at least a point on Saturday at Portsmouth but we didn’t get one,” he said.

“We needed another game to put the run to an end and win a football match again. The clean sheet was also nice.

“Some of our play was top class, it really was. And so we got what we deserved.

“Yes, they started well and they are entitled to do that at home. But we grew into the game and there was a moment of brilliance from Dapo settled everyone down, so after that point we were excellent.”

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