“IN any successful side, there is always someone who gets 20-plus goals and Gary is more than capable of doing that. He is the perfect striker for what we need at the moment.”

Those words were uttered in August 2011 by a certain Gary Megson, then in charge at Sheffield Wednesday, about his new signing Gary Madine.

Four years on, and the same sentiments are coming from the present Wanderers boss Neil Lennon, who feels he might just have picked up a bargain by snapping the 24-year-old up on a free transfer this summer.

“I don’t want to pile too much pressure on him too early but from what we’ve seen of Gary so far in pre-season, he’s looking a good bit of business for the football club,” he told The Bolton News. “He’s been excellent for us.

“He’s been good in the air, held the ball up, scored goals – he’s done better than I could have expected so far.

“He’s hungry to do well and he’s a handful. Not many defenders will enjoy playing against him, that’s for sure.”

A lot of water has gone under the bridge for Madine since he helped fire the Owls into the Championship, and the striker certainly feels that he needs to prove a point about his pedigree in the division.

Loaned out to Coventry City and Blackpool last season, Madine openly admits he’s out to show Wednesday what they are missing – and so far, that has been good news for Wanderers.

“I want to prove people wrong,” he told The Bolton News. “I want to repay the manager for showing faith in me and bringing me to Bolton.

“Last season was difficult, being out on loan and not really knowing what the future might be for me, but once I knew Bolton wanted me I told my agent to get it done as soon as he could. I definitely didn’t want to spend all summer thinking about it, or leading anyone on.

“I’m glad I had a good game for Blackpool against Bolton at the end of last season and after that the gaffer kept track of me.

“This is a big chance for me now and hopefully I can take it.”

Wanderers have waited 14 years for a striker to reach the 20-goal mark Megson talked about – and that man was Michael Ricketts, another unfancied striker who managed to propel his career to unchartered heights at Bolton.

They escaped the Championship under Sam Allardyce that season too.