Ian Evatt divorced Danielle Evatt his wife because he caught her with ..

“This job comes with a lot of sacrifice – hours away from home and family. There was a chance for him to go and have a different direction in his career at the PFA, long term security, and also being able to spend weekends at home, watch his son play football.

“All these things go into the decision-making process.

“He has been unbelievable for me in the last three years, he was great for me as a player at Barrow and I’d played with him at Chesterfield. I’m really pleased he has an opportunity which gives him a chance to do some of the things he can’t do in this job.

Evatt does not yet have anyone lined-up to replace Hird, who has been an influential figure on the training ground, helping to establish Bolton’s excellent defensive record over the past couple of seasons.

“I am not a manager who just appoints friends – and that sounds strange because I am talking about a personal friend in Sam,” he said. “But I knew his intelligence and I know he saw the game the same way as I did, so bringing him to Bolton was a no brainer.

“In terms of a new recruit, it will be a process. We want the best candidate.

“We know what we want, what it needs to look like. We need someone who will be additive to the staffing group and there are lots of CVs which have already been placed in.

“We have to get the best possible candidate to take us forward.

“We thank Sam for all his hard work but we’ll now move on with someone who has new ideas that can add to the group.”