LIKE the intrepid Canadian Mounties, Sam Allardyce has developed an uncanny knack of always getting his man.

Three times during the course of the season, the Wanderers boss failed in initial approaches for players he'd set his heart on signing and three times he went back to clinch the deal!

Colin Hendry, Nicky Summerbee and Matt Clarke have all made significant contributions to the cause but they might never have crossed the Reebok threshold if Allardyce hadn't persevered.

When Wanderers were first linked with Hendry, it was seen as a pie in the sky idea that would never come off. Then, when it looked like it was agreed early in December, the initial loan deal appeared to have collapsed.

But Allardyce was like a dog with a bone.

First the deal was on, then it was "definitely" off - or so we were led to believe.

But the Wanderers' boss had created a good impression on Hendry, who was so smitten with the Reebok and so determined to keep his international career alive that he helped finance the deal out of his own pocket.

Even better, half way through the original three-month loan deal, Hendry and Allardyce realised they were made for each other and a permanent contract was sealed. Likewise, when Wanderers made their first attempt to sign Summerbee on loan in October, the former Manchester City winger wasn't convinced a switch from Sunderland was the best of career moves.

"At this moment in time I can't quite persuade him, which is disappointing," Allardyce admitted. "Nicky feels he wants to hang on and wait for a Premier League club to come in for him."

But three months later, after turning down offers from two Premier League clubs, Summerbee cut his ties with Sunderland and pinned his colours to the Reebok mast. Now he's looking at staying beyond the summer when his short-term contract expires.

What is it about Wanderers that convinces reluctant recruits that this is where they should put down their roots?

Matt Clarke's initial rejection of the offer to come to Bolton on loan didn't just disappoint Allardyce, it prompted him to question the hunger of players who appeared content to just sit back and collect their wages when they weren't getting regular games.

But the Bradford keeper, impressive in recent games, has so enjoyed his time at the Reebok - in stark contrast to his time at Valley Parade - that he says he'd be more than happy to make the switch permanent in the summer if a deal can be agreed.

Allardyce did not have time, however, to make a second attempt to sign the Senegal international Djibril Diawara. The Torino midfielder - described as a Patrick Vieira type - arrived too late to beat the 5 o'clock transfer deadline in March.

But don't expect never-say-die Allardyce to let it rest at that. Diawara might have slipped through the net once but he is determined to try again in the summer and, if everything goes to form, we can expect him to be successful second time round.