BEFORE a ball was kicked in anger, Sam Allardyce said he was hoping to rewrite the record books and claim a special place in the history of Bolton Wanderers.

But it was in hope more than expectation that Wanderers prepared for their third successive season of Premiership football.

There was no doubting the quality of world class stars like Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo and respected top flight players such as Jussi Jaaskelainen, Bruno N'Gotty, Florent Laville, Per Frandsen and Ricardo Gardner.

But, with Gudni Bergsson having retired, they were one short in the centre-back department and their only experienced centre-forward was Kevin Davies, who had been picked up on a free after being discarded by Southampton.

Big Sam had arguably the most talented bunch of players ever assembled by a Wanderers manager, but he had no strength in depth and, with the restrictions of the transfer window regulations, he went to Old Trafford on August 14 on a wing and a prayer...and a 19-year-old right back!

That Nicky Hunt, the lad from Westhoughton, should emerge as one of the rising stars of the Premiership and Davies sweep the board in the player of the year polls as Wanderers finished the season on a 44-year high not only illustrates the progress the team made over the course of nine exhilarating months, but also how heroes can emerge in the unlikeliest of guises.

Eighth in the Premiership and an appearance in the Carling Cup final -- this was Wanderers' most successful season in modern times.

They got lucky, it must be said, with the medical staff's injury-prevention methods keeping absenteeism to the minimum and an impressive disciplinary record -- not a single red card at first team level -- keeping suspensions down to manageable levels.

And, even when they did lose Laville and Gardner to long-term cruciate ligament injuries, they coped, thanks in no small way to Simon Charlton, who proved to be a revelation at centre-back before switching to his more accustomed left-back role to have another impressive season at the highest level of the game.

But it was not all plain sailing and, when they were hammered 6-2 at Manchester City on October 18, Okocha emerged from the post-match inquest to complain that he needed more help from his team-mates if Wanderers were to avoid another desperate survival battle.

There had been alarm bells weeks earlier when Allardyce read the riot act after first apologising to the travelling fans who witnessed the embarrassment of a thumping defeat at Portsmouth, and a few nervous twitches developed in March when the distraction of the Carling Cup appeared to take its toll.

But, along the way, they competed with the best and beat most of the rest to earn universal acclaim -- albeit grudgingly in some quarters -- for going within a whisker of qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club's 127-year history.

"I said at the start of the season we had a small squad but a talented one and that the danger was that, if we didn't keep it fit, we might struggle," Allardyce said, reflecting on the adventure which ended disappointingly in defeat to Fulham but only after a five-match winning run no Bolton team had managed in the top flight for 76 years. Allardyce added: "We had the usual start when we didn't get people in on time and, while we performed very well, we only won one of the first 10 games.

"Everybody thought then that it was going to be a difficult season, yet again, but I had faith in the players. I continued to open my mouth until the beginning of November and then I shut it and let the players do the talking.

"Things finally started to go our way at Tottenham, then we went through the whole of November without conceding a goal.

"We suffered some long-term injuries without suffering too many and the players went onwards and upwards from there.

"We continued to do well in the league through a difficult period in December and did very well in the cup."

Having won at Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carling Cup, Wanderers were stunned when they lost to Fulham at Loftus Road despite dominating the game and playing some of their best football of the season.

But, not for the first time, they showed their character to come from behind on successive Saturdays, winning at Chelsea then holding Arsenal to a draw at the Reebok. It was a defining phase of the season.

"I think the way we responded to the defeat at Fulham was a turning point for us," Allardyce said.

"With a difficult period coming up over Christmas, losing that game could have set us back, but it didn't. We went to Chelsea and won 2-1 and that victory set us up for a good run through December and January.

"The cup also continued to carry us through that period -- a fantastic semi-final victory here against Aston Villa with Jay-Jay signing off in style before leaving for the African Nations Cup."

By his own admission, Okocha was jaded when he returned and, after the thrill of getting there, the showdown at Cardiff with Middlesbrough turned out to be a massive anti-climax as the big players failed to perform.

Wanderers had paid the penalty for fielding a below strength defence against Manchester City the weekend before the final and losing the next three -- at Birmingham, at home to Chelsea then at Arsenal -- suggested they were suffering a king-sized hangover.

Allardyce picked up on the anxieties and even voiced the word "crisis" but, despite his concerns, he saw encouraging signs.

Reflecting on the way the final impacted on the Premiership, he conceded: "The two games we really had a problem with were the Manchester City game before the final and the trip to Birmingham after the final. The next two games at home to Chelsea, and at Arsenal brought poor results but the performances were great.

"We were very unlucky to lose those games. Then we looked like we'd turned the corner with the victrory against Newcastle when we kept a clean sheet for the first time for a while and, although we looked dreadful at Middlesbrough, drawing with Villa in the last minute and beating Wolves in the last minute really turned the corner for us.

"From then on it just snowballed, game after game, victory after victory.

"There have been many defining moments throughout the season but there have been some fantastic performances by the players and the crowd has been fantastic all the way through.

"Sadly I would have liked to have won eight at home and six away because it's a bit special here nowadays.

"Supporters are actually coming to the Reebok now to watch Bolton Wanderers and not just because Arsenal and Manchester United are playing."

Allardyce fears, however, that Wanderers have raised expectations out of all proportion to their resources and their potential. As proud as he is of the team's achievements since he arrived in October 1999, he refuses to get carried away.

He said: "I know expectations will be huge from now on. We've given the fans talented players and great entertainment to watch.

"We are going into year four in the Premiership but, quite realistically, we shouldn't have stayed in. We stayed in by the skin of our teeth on two occasions and this year we've over achieved.

"We've done more than we should have done. Everybody can have a golden year and we've had one, but that puts greater pressure on us all to do it again."

The pressure is on to improve on one of the most successful seasons in living memory. But Allardyce thrives on pressure and would not have it any other way.