THERE are a few more miles on the clock than there were in their prime but the White Hot spirit burns bright again in Bolton this weekend as the legends come to town.

Generations of the club’s most treasured players, from Peter Reid to Jay Jay Okocha, will pull on a shirt today to raise money for the Supporters’ Trust and the Community Trust.

After a season of woe, the game has created a stir of excitement among fans and with fair weather predicted it is hoped the gate could creep towards the 10,000 mark.

Organised by John McGinlay and Tony Kelly, two of the town’s favourite adopted sons, the friendly has been in the planning stages for several months.

“We’ve been talking about the game in the background for quite a while but we couldn’t do a lot with it while there were so many questions about where the club was heading,” McGinlay explained.

“The idea was always there to bring some of the famous faces back and rather than do it in pre-season we thought ‘why not put it on to the back of a not-so-good season and give fans something to smile about?’

“At least let’s end on a positive and then make an exciting start to next season.

“It’s going to be a fantastic day and we’re all looking forward to it.”

For the last few weeks McGinlay and Kelly have been in full salesman mode, spreading the word about the town on the internet, the radio and, of course, via The Bolton News.

It has been no mean feat gathering players from all around the globe and the line-up has changed several times.

Michael Johansen, the popular Danish midfielder now working as a football agent, had been due to play but has been called to Turkey to represent a player in a dispute with his club.

Getting permission to play the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Nolan has not been a simple task, either, with the pair registered to Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient.

It has been suggested a couple of the modern-day Wanderers could also make an appearance, not least Zach Clough, who fancies the prospect of playing alongside Okocha on Team McGinlay.

Both team captains are hoping to secure some younger blood to do the running for them on the pitch.

“There will be all different shapes and sizes in there, believe me,” McGinlay said. “We’re thinking of a roll-on, roll-off system because we need the breaks.”

“For him it’ll just be roll-on, like the Teletubbies,” Kelly interjected.

The teams are a closely-guarded secret at present, although it has emerged comedian Paddy McGuinness will be doing a turn for Team Kelly.

“John named the teams because when we were listing the players we wanted he was going ‘I’ve got him, I’ve got him,’ a bit like kids when they collect the football stickers,” Kelly explained.

“David Lee is a prime candidate – one of the very top picks in the trumps.

“Only because he’s the fittest – he’s unbelievable.

“We’re all bald because he (pointing to McGinlay) just used to hang about in the penalty box, goal-hanger supreme. Golden balls, we used to call him.

“Bruce Rioch used to tell him ‘don’t come out of that penalty box’ and the ball would come flying past, he’d stick his head out and it’d be a fluke.

“Me, I’m the Lionel Messi of walking football, which is what I play now.”

“The game is still too quick for you,” McGinlay countered.

The legs may be going but the banter still flows well between two players who were the heartbeat of a fondly-remembered side which took Wanderers from the backwaters of the Old Division Two to the Premier League for the first time.

“After the game there will be a gala dinner which will be an even better chance to talk about old games and swap stories from the good old days and have one or two drinks,” McGinlay said. “It’ll be a fantastic day and night.”

The game is not just an excuse to parade some former players and get all nostalgic, of course, there is serious money to be raised too.

The Bolton Wanderers Community Trust celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and continues to operate schemes around the town, engaging supporters and providing the human face of the club.

“It’s the team behind the team,” said Kelly, who has worked closely with the Trust for several years. “They are the first port of call for fans and go into schools, hospitals, youth clubs, everywhere you could mention around the town.

"The programmes they put on benefits kids as young as two and old fellas at 70, so they are helping the whole town.

“It’s a celebration of what they have done – 30 years and long may that continue.”

McGinlay’s role as ambassador to the Supporters' Trust is a newer one but he has been impressed by the progress they have shown since getting the mandate to proceed from more than 1,000 supporters in January.

“It’s still in the early days of forming, really,” he said. “But I am confident it will grow and grow.

“Hopefully it will play a big part in the future of the football club.”