Evatt led the Whites to the play-offs twice, reaching the final once, but couldn’t quite get over the line during his spell in charge.
Just over a year on from his departure, the 44-year-old returned to the Toughsheet Stadium as Blackpool boss.
“It’s been a strange day really,” he said after the final whistle. “When you leave football clubs, you leave instantly.
“I built a lot of relationships while I was here over nearly five years so it was nice to see people before the game, but I’m always conscious that it doesn’t turn into a sideshow or a circus. I’m here to do my job and for it to be strictly business.
“Now I’m relaxed and we’ve got a decent result, I can spend some time saying hello to people and asking how they are because I’ve not had that opportunity.
“A strange feeling but the same technical area, same dugout. So yeah, it was a bit strange but I really enjoyed the game.”
Evatt received a mostly warm reception from the 20,000-plus Wanderers supporters in attendance against the Seasiders.
“I have zero issues,” he added. “I had a wonderful time here, I was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to coach this team and this football club. The size of it is ginormous, we had some success along the way that we mustn’t forget.
“Football is emotional and people show their emotions in different ways, but I have no ill feeling at all and I wish Bolton all the best. I hope Bolton go on to get promoted, I really do.
“But today I’m the head coach of Blackpool Football Club, the club that I hold very dear to my heart for personal reasons and my playing career. I’m just trying to do the best I can for this club. Today we did.”
It was another valuable point for Blackpool as they battle to pull away from the drop zone. They were rock bottom when Evatt took charge in October.
“My teams never want to hold on to anything,” he insisted. “We try and score more, that’s what we did and we had some huge chances at the end.
“We spent a lot of time talking about Bolton’s threats and how they score so many late goals. It was actually refreshing to see us take the game to them in extra time and be the ones looking the most likely to score.”