THERE were times in the dark days of the mid-1980s when not even the most optimistic of fans would have dared to suggest Bolton Wanderers could ever regain their position as a respected force in English football.

The darkest day of all was Saturday, April 4, 1987. The venue, Somerton Park, Newport; the occasion, a relegation battle in the old Third Division; the result, a 2-1 win for Newport County in front of 1,193 spectators - the lowest crowd on record for a competitive match involving the Wanderers.

It was a pivotal result that helped condemn the club to its one and only season in the Fourth Division, a tour of duty that brought soul-destroying trips to Darlington, Hartlepool, Exeter, Halifax and Rochdale.

At such times in the course of following the team's fortunes - mostly misfortunes in those days - you could not help but envy your predecessors, in particular Haydn Berry, the grand old man who reported for this newspaper during the glory days of the 1950s, when Nat Lofthouse and Co had an unbroken run in Division One, frequently in the top half of the table.

What a joy it must have been in 1958 to have the satisfaction of seeing Wanderers return to Wembley, the scene of their dramatic defeat by Blackpool five years earlier, and beat Manchester United to win the FA Cup.

Unfortunately there has been no trophy to parade at the end of the season that has just drawn to a close - although they did come desperately close - and it must be acknowledged that, in the days before the abolition of the maximum wage, it would not have been considered worthy of celebration to finish as the eighth best team in England...but if any of the old timers ever saw a more entertaining team than the one led with such distinction by Jay-Jay Okocha, then they were well-blessed indeed.

Bolton Wanderers fans have been privileged over the past nine months to see some of the most gifted footballers ever to pull on the famous white shirt and they responded in their droves, taking the average attendance to a 44-year high with the Reebok almost filled to capacity for every league game.

They have had the pleasure of seeing players such as Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo when, less than five years ago, the extent of the club's ambition was to keep the financial wolf from the door and avoid relegation to Division Two!

Since then, with Phil Gartside leading the board and Sam Allardyce managing the team, Wanderers' fans have not only had their sense of pride restored but also had the joy of witnessing the club's re-emergence and a year-on-year improvement to become established as a force in the top half of the Premiership.

That they have done it on a tight budget makes the achievement all the more impressive; that they have done it in style makes it extra special.

They have had their problems along the way, of course. Alarm bells were ringing when they managed to win just one of their first 10 games and took hefty beatings at Manchester United, Portsmouth and Manchester City and there was no question that reaching the Carling Cup Final knocked them right out of their Premiership stride and caused a few hearts to flutter - not to mention the public relations disaster of the controversial ticket distribution policy.

But there is now a genuine and ever-growing respect for Big Sam and his Wanderers. A record-equalling eight away wins and five successive victories at the back end were major contributions to a record Premiership points haul, but 2003-2004 was about more than just keeping the statisticians busy.

It was about Djorkaeff rolling back the years with some vintage performances, Campo answering his critics with some immense displays in midfield, Bruno N'Gotty living up to his impressive pedigree as one of the coolest of defenders and Jussi Jaaskelainen emerging as one of the best goalkeepers in the land.

It was about Kevin Nolan re-emerging as one of the game's brightest young players - a reward for his determination following some much-needed soul-searching at the end of last season - and Nicky Hunt following him out of the academy ranks to enjoy a stunning first Premiership season that brought the bonus of England U21 honours.

It was about unsung heroes - Simon Charlton a revelation as an emergency centre-back, Henrik Pedersen coming out of the shadows to run defences ragged... and, by common consent, it was largely about Kevin Davies who was picked up from the proverbial "scrapheap" after being ditched by Southampton last summer and who swept the board in the player of the year polls with some titanic displays that would have delighted any of the old centre-forwards.

Yet, measured in newspaper column inches and headlines, it seemed it was mostly about Okocha.

The gifted Nigerian might not have lived up to the breathtaking standards he set towards the end of last season; he could not even muster a single Premiership goal and there were occasions - most noteably the Carling Cup final when neither he nor Djorkaeff were able to deliver what was expected of them - when he looked decidedly jaded. But he bore the responsibilities of captaincy with dignity and dedication, did all he could to delay his departure for the African Nations Cup and worked hard to get back into the swing when he returned - all under the constant pressure of speculation concerning his future and, at times, his personal finances.

And he did it all with a smile on his face.

In fact, he put smiles on everybody's face on that memorable night in January when he effectively blasted Aston Villa out of the Carling Cup semi-final with one of the most breathtaking goals of this or any other season.

He acknowledges that fifth goal in the 5-2 first leg triumph that proved so decisive as one of the best he has ever scored - and that's saying something considering some of the highlights of his days with Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce and Paris St Germain. It helped secure him a nomination for the PFA's Player of the Year award and won him a place in the hearts of every Bolton fan who was there that night.

"Youri was standing next to me and we were thinking of putting a cross in," he recalls. "Then I saw the wall was not well placed and told him 'Stand aside, I'm going to shoot!'"

Considering the degree of difficulty, most ordinary players would have advised the cross, but neither Okocha nor Djorkaeff could ever be described as "ordinary". Without hesitation, the Frenchman duly did as he was told and the Nigerian unleashed a right-footer that flew past the outside of the Villa wall and speared into the top corner past a disbelieving Thomas Sorensen.

At that moment the dark days of 1987 were just a dim and distant memory of a different life, a different Bolton Wanderers.