'˜Everyone gets a clean slate, he gets back in the side if he's good enough'

The club captain, who signed a new contract in the summer having picked up a host of awards for his displays last season, appeared to be frozen out by Caldwell in the week leading up to the manager’s dismissal.

Caldwell said he had given Evatt a week off to ‘rest and think about things.’

But Caldwell’s exit has meant a return to training for the centre-half.

And Branston hasn’t felt the need to go over old ground.

“I haven’t had a conversation with Ian Evatt, I don’t think it needs to be,” he said.

“I’m not the manager who chose to keep him out, he’s involved for me, everyone gets clean slate.

“He comes in trying to impress me to get in the side.

“The other manager did what he thought was right so you respect that, you get on with it.

“At the time we’d just lost 5-1, job done.

“He gets back in the side if he’s good enough.”

Branston’s first match of what is likely to be a two-game stint as caretaker, is at Luton Town tomorrow.

He was at Adams Park last Saturday to see them take on Wycombe and has been working hard to prepare.

“I invited two scouts down to training on Tuesday and we worked on practice matches on elements I think we’re good at and bad at.

“I got them to have an opinion with the staff. It was a good insight to have fresh eyes.

“They saw what I saw.

“I’ve gone through every goal we’ve conceded and I know what I think I want to do to make us a good, good unit.”