BOLTON and Burnley fans will see the many faces of Owen Coyle at the Reebok next week — thanks to an enterprising sale by a cheeky entrepreneur.

Owen Coyle masks have been selling like hot cakes at the Bolton Wanderers superstore since his appointment.

Now the question in many fans’ minds is: “Why do they have Burnley FC logos on the back?”

The masks, which were sold for £2 at the Wanderers Superstore, came with a piece of tape stuck to the reverse side.

Some inquisitive fans decided to pull the tape off — and were shocked to find a Burnley FC badge hidden underneath.

Scott Daniels, a keen Burnley fan, bought 2,000 of the masks ahead of last season’s Championship play-off final at Wembley.

He had about 700 of them left after the match, and was having trouble selling them at regular games.

While other Burnley fans were fuming as Coyle controversially moved to Bolton, quick-thinking Mr Daniels saw a business opportunity. He took the job lot to the Bolton Wanderers superstore, and they were happy to take them off his hands when he offered them at a knock down rate.

Mr Daniels said: “I had them at home and I thought, ‘crikey, I’m going to be stuck with these’.

“I was going to sell them to Celtic when it looked like he might be going there.

“They would have gone on eBay if the club hadn’t wanted them.”

As the hotly anticipated “grudge” match approaches, pitting Coyle against his former club, fans wearing the masks are expected to turn out in force in a move which is sure to annoy Burnley fans.

Mr Daniels said he would have the last laugh, however.

He said: “It’s a bit of a giggle really, because all the Bolton fans are wearing them, but they had the Burnley logo on them. It’s a bit of one-upmanship.”

Bolton fan Robert Melia, from Horwich, said he was annoyed when he pulled the tape off his mask.

He said: “I ripped it off and found a Burnley badge. I think that it is an absolute disgrace.”

The masks were made by Warwickshire-based company Mask-arade, and their managing director, Ray Duffy, said he would be delighted to sell more of the masks to Bolton — but this time emblazoned with the Bolton badge.

A Bolton Wanderers spokesman said the masks had been taken off sale, but this conflicted with staff at the club shop, who said the masks had sold out.

Bolton take on Burnley at the Reebok on Tuesday, January 26.

julian.thorpe@theboltonnews.co.uk