KEVIN Nolan, the hero of Old Trafford two seasons on the trot, has been reaping the plaudits from all sides today - and not least from his appreciative manager.

Sam Allardyce describes his 20-year-old midfield ace as "a fantastic player" and, if others do not agree, then they are the losers.

The Wanderers' boss was critical of England U-21 coach David Platt for not including Nolan in last week's friendly international against Yugoslavia at the Reebok - and made his feelings known when they met.

But, after seeing Nolan bag the only goal in last night's stunning victory at Manchester United, he regarded the snub as a blessing in disguise.

"I was glad in the end that Kevin didn't play for the U21s because

obviously he could have got injured," Allardyce explained.

"It's not a problem to me whether they call him up or not but what does the lad have to do to get himself the recognition he deserves? It's a very poor mistake by the England selectors."

He added: "It's probably because he's at Bolton Wanderers and could also be because of how he looks. He's not the elegant flowing footballer of a David Beckham or a Ryan Giggs and people may say to themselves 'This player's not that good'. But he's a wonderful player. He's now completed 38-40 games in

the Premiership and scored 10 goals from midfield.

"He's really progressing but just not getting the recognition he deserves both as a Premiership player and as an England player."

Nolan, who has pulled out of England U20s squads in the past, still hopes to impress Platt but is clearly focused on Premiership matters.

"I wasn't disappointed about the U21s because there's a lot of quality players in England," he said. " I've just got to prove I can match them.

"If it doesn't come, it doesn't come. I'll be happy to accept Platt's call but at the moment I'm just happy accepting Sam's."