BLACK tie, smart suit, it was the kind of glamorous awards night that Zach Clough might have to get used to in his footballing career.

There was a vague sense of relief on the youngster’s face when he just missed out on the Rising Star prize at Monday night’s MBNA North West Football Awards – as he would not be called upon to make an acceptance speech.

But Clough’s time will certainly come, and away from the spotlight he is already saying all the right things.

Though sidelined with a shoulder injury since mid-September, the Wanderers prodigy is just weeks away from a long-awaited return to first-team action.

During the time spent recovering from surgery he signed a new four-year contract, offered, one would assume, to ward off the many interested Premier League clubs that have circled him since breaking into the first team at the start of the year.

But Clough insists he was pleased to show his commitment to the club that has been his home for more than a decade.

“I’d like to say I think I’ve deserved it – but that’s probably not for me to do,” he smiled, dressed to the nines at the gala event at Lancashire County Cricket Club.

“I’m happy to commit my future to a club I’ve been at since eight years of age. I don’t know any different, really.

“I’d never turn down a contract offered to me by Bolton. To sign for another four years and stay in football is kind of a dream come true.

“In four years I’d love to think we’d be pushing to be back in the Premier League. It’s a long time, and anything can happen.

“I dream of that sort of stuff. Taking the club I’ve been at for so long back into the big time? It’s where a club of our stature belongs.”

Ambitious words, but perhaps the exuberance of youth can lift some of the gloom that has festered round Wanderers in the last few months?

Clough has watched his team-mates struggle but is adamant he can make a difference on his return, which is pencilled in for the middle of next month.

“It has been hard to watch sometimes,” he said. “There’s not much I can do when I have such a bad shoulder. Hopefully in a few weeks I can get back out there and make a difference. I want to try and push them in the right direction.

“I believe in us, and certainly the gaffer does. I think it’s a matter of time before we turn things around.”

In placing such faith on his ability to ignite Wanderers’ season, it is perhaps fair to remember that the 20-year-old is still a newcomer. It is just 11 months since he made his memorable debut against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup; not that it fazes him.

“It’s big expectation I suppose; I’m only 20. But I want to grasp it and show the fans they are right to expect.

“It’s all still new to me. I’m still a novice.

“It’s great to have professionals like Emile Heskey and Shola Ameobi around you because if you watch what they are doing, you learn. It was the same with Eidur Gudjohnsen last season; I was disappointed to see him go. I learned a lot from him.”

Clough also revealed that his latest shoulder injury came as a result of a training ground accident as a 17-year-old at the club’s academy.

“I did it when I was training with David Lee and Tony Kelly when I was 17. I pushed it back into place myself – and I regret that now,” he said.

“Mentally I’m not really worrying. I’ve done all the work that the physios have set me, so I shouldn’t really struggle with many more shoulder injuries. I think I’ve got that sorted now.

“The second one wasn’t as bad as the first but unfortunately it requires the same length of time out. You can’t really rush it because you run the risk of doing it again.”