SIR Tom Finney was always given a hard time when he played against Bolton Wanderers for Preston.

But he does not hold any grudges and he will be cheering on the Whites in their make-or-break survival mission against Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Burnden Park was hardly the most welcoming place for a forward in the 1950s and, even though Finney was one of the most versatile players of his time, there was no escape against Wanderers.

If he played on the right he came up against notorious hard man Tommy Banks. If he switched to the left he faced no less of a physical test in the shape of Roy Hartle and if he played centre forward big John Higgins was there waiting for him.

There was nowhere to hide even for someone with the varied talents of Finney.

But, like all true legends, the challenge was met with relish rather than apprehension.

Those derby games built an affinity for Bolton with Finney which lasts to this day, making his choice of preferred survivors on Sunday an easy one to make.

"I want Bolton to stay up, being a Lancashire club," he said.

"Preston were always welcome at Bolton when I played and I have had some great colleagues from those days such as Tommy Banks, Nat Lofthouse and Roy Hartle.

"I hope they stay up. They deserve it. Sam Allardyce has done a fantastic job with little more than peanuts to spend.

"It is good that it is in their own hands.

"When I played for Preston, going to Bolton was always a game I looked forward to.

"It was a great derby occasion at Burnden Park. There would be 40,000 people on in those days and Preston always had a good following.

"It was a friendly atmosphere and it was always a really good game and a hard game.

"The two full backs were renowned for being good players and hard people."

Finney was speaking exclusively to the Bolton Evening News after signing copies of his autobiography at Waterstone's in Deansgate on Wednesday.

Such is his long lasting popularity, a one-hour session turned into more than 90 minutes in the busiest signing session at the bookshop branch for years.

Tom Finney, My Autobiography, is published by Headline and costs £18.99.