Bolton boss Ian Evatt revealed after the 2-1 Sky Bet League One win over Shrewsbury that he gave his players a half-time dressing down.

Wanderers led 2-0 at the break thanks to quickfire goals from former midfielder Antoni Sarcevic and top goalscorer Dapo Afolayan.

However, Evatt’s frustration grew in the second half as Shrewsbury shrugged off Ryan Bowman’s missed penalty to put the final outcome in doubt with Luke Leahy’s late free-kick.

“We weren’t at our best and we look tired,” said Evatt of a team back on home turf after trips to Sunderland and Charlton.

“But we found a way to win which is what the good teams do. I didn’t enjoy it because I know we can be better. I want better because I strive for perfection.

“We were 2-0 up at half-time and they got an absolute roasting.

“I want them to be brilliant all the time. I have some perspective, it’s not going to be like that all the time.

“But give footballers an inch, they take a mile, so you need to keep on them so they know what is expected.

“However, our work ethic and determination to see the game out was there for all to see.”

However, Evatt admitted: “Shrewsbury were never out of the game because of the way they play.

“They are always going to get opportunities. But when we got 2-0 up it almost became too easy. We thought we had the game done.”

Shrews boss Steve Cotterill said: “Apart from a mad five minutes I thought it was a good performance.

“We conceded goals we worked on in the week because that’s how they score their goals,” he said of curling right foot strikes from Sarcevic and Afolayan after 18 and 23 minutes.

“We even spoke about where they score, down to Sarcevic’s being a top corner shot.

“Their first goal was against the run of play,” added Cotterill. “We should have scored before they scored, after they scored we should have equalised and after they scored their second we could have had four before half-time.

“At half-time, had we been more clinical, it could have been 4-2 to us.

“Anyone can miss a penalty,” he said of Bowman’s failed 55th-minute spot-kick. “Us missing a penalty isn’t down to why we lost that game. No one will get singled out.

“Our goal was bit too late,” he said of Leahy’s consolation. “Had it happened a bit earlier we could have got a head of steam and maybe got an equaliser towards the end.

“I felt the opportunities we carved out were better opportunities (than) from where Bolton got their goals from.”