DAVID Wheater reckons Wanderers’ secret weapon can wreck Liverpool’s FA Cup hopes at the Macron Stadium tomorrow night.

Teen ace Zach Clough had his feet up at home in Denton as Neil Lennon’s men ground out a lucrative replay at Anfield 10 days ago.

But after returning from a hamstring injury with two superb goals against Wolves on Saturday, Wheater reckons the 19-year-old can announce himself on the big stage by helping to dump Steven Gerrard and Co out of the competition.

“He won’t freeze,” said the defender, who served as captain in Saturday’s 2-2 draw. “He always wants the ball, even in training where I kick him quite a lot.

“Sometimes you can kick the younger lads and they go away but he wants the ball all the time. He’ll be good against Liverpool.

“He won’t be thinking about what stage he is playing on. He just wants to play football, every game is the same for him.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he does score or if he gets man of the match – he’s that good.”

Having caught both Wigan and Wolves unaware, scoring three goals in his first two senior starts for Wanderers, the cat will definitely be out of the bag if the academy graduate turns on the style live on TV tomorrow night.

Clough’s quality even came as a surprise to the Whites’ first team, Neil Lennon breaking down the barriers between Lostock and Euxton erected by his predecessor Dougie Freedman and inviting several younger players to train with the first team.

Wheater has been impressed with what he has seen.

“He’s one for the future but we might do well to keep hold of him because all the top clubs will be looking at him,” Wheater told The Bolton News.

“He can do that to Liverpool, definitely. Part of me doesn’t want him to because they might take him off us.

“He’s very mature for his age. Some of the other younger lads are not quite to the same level but when you see that free kick (against Wolves) – a young lad might get excited with that and smash it over the bar. Tim Ream said he called it and meant to put it there.

“Before we didn’t see many of the academy lads, they didn’t train with us, but since he came in – him and Vela, to be fair, they were both top drawer – they’ll go on as far as he wants.”

Liverpool captain Gerrard stands to make his 700th Liverpool appearance at the Macron, should he feature.

Clough hadn’t even turned four years old when the former England skipper made his first appearance for Liverpool, as a last-minute substitute against Blackburn Rovers in November 1998.

Wheater is looking forward to the challenge after playing an important role in seeing out a draw at Anfield in the first meeting between the sides 10 days ago.

“They are the games I love playing in,” he said.

“I’d rather play Liverpool than some Second Division side. You want to test yourself against the best.

“We’d rather be up there in the league. But cup runs are special, fans love them and you never know, we might get to Wembley.

“It’s here so we’ll take it.”

Wheater might also be reunited with former team-mate Daniel Sturridge, who returned with a goal for the Reds on Saturday against West Ham.

“I know how he plays,” he said. “Stopping him is a different matter.

“He’ll get a good reception from our fans. I think he got one at Anfield when he walked past.”