BOLTON WANDERERS MANAGER Ian Evatt has rubbished a comment made by James McClean in the wake of the Republic of Ireland international’s move to Wigan Athletic last week.
McClean has signed up for a second stint with Wigan after bringing an end to a three-year spell at Stoke City.
Ahead of his return to the Latics, the 32-year-old was also linked with their local rivals and fellow League One club Bolton Wanderers.
Speaking ahead of Wigan’s 2-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday – in which he scored the second goal – McClean insisted that he didn’t consider Bolton as an option.
“I know Bolton were interested but having been here before as a Wigan player, there was never, ever any chance I was going to entertain that… The Bolton one, for a lot of reasons, wasn’t something I was going to take interest in,” said the Derry native.
However, McClean’s reference to interest from Bolton was dismissed by Ian Evatt after he watched his side record a 2-1 victory over Oxford United.
Evatt told The Bolton News: “I heard the quotes and I find it very amusing. If that is the case then he needs to communicate with his agent, because he didn’t stop ringing me for three weeks after I’d told him no.
“That’s the nature of the beast, it is what it is. We read what he had to say, we smiled and laughed, and maybe there’s a communication issue with the agent because after I’d told him no, he carried on ringing. Obviously, Bolton can’t be too bad to play for.”
Separated by just eight miles, the two Greater Manchester clubs are set to clash tomorrow night in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
“We were never interested in James McClean,” Evatt added. “It was his agent trying to get him to us and whether they have used us to try and get a better deal out of Wigan, I don’t know. That is sometimes the case.
“To come out and make a statement like that… It is false. Completely false.”
