IAN Evatt has confirmed that Wanderers will be looking to keep Alex Baptiste after promotion to League One.

It has been reported that the 35-year-old could be offered a 12-month extension to his contract at the UniBol, which expires this summer.

Evatt believes his former Blackpool team-mate’s performances have warranted the offer of another season in League One, with the defender proving a key figure in the promotion campaign.

“We will be trying to keep Alex, no doubt, and I have had a conversation with him already,” he said.

“Mine and Alex’s relationship has completely changed in the last year. I have known the lad for 15 years and we have always been quite close, we were part of an amazing group (at Blackpool) which achieved amazing things.

“We don’t speak like we used to, it is very much manager and player.

“And the thing he said to me at the final whistle on Saturday with Gillo – and it was emotional, really – was that they had done it for me.

“We have done incredible things together but the biggest motivation for them was that they didn’t want to let me down.

“That’s Alex’s statement for next season, he wants to be a part of it. But he just feels like he doesn’t want to let me down, and I have told him, he never could.

“This is my decision, he has earned it on merit and the way he played.

“So we want to do what we can to keep him because not only has he proved to be a fantastic football player but he’s also a fantastic human being and Bolton Wanderers is a better place with him in it.”

Baptiste made 42 appearances in all competitions for the Whites this season, with only Eoin Doyle and Ricardo Santos spending more minutes on the pitch.

Evatt will be meeting players individually on Monday to discuss their future at Wanderers, with a retained list expected to be confirmed by the club at some stage next week.