NICK Blackman has Burnden Park to thank in part for his phenomenal start to the season.

With 11 goals to his name in all competitions, the Reading striker is the man to watch for Wanderers at the Madejski Stadium.

But it is not common knowledge the one-time Blackburn Rovers forward has transformed his career with the Royals with a summer of hard graft in Bolton.

Blackman, whose family live in Whitefield, recruited the help of personal trainer Stephen Grimes at the end of last season to get in top shape for the current campaign.

Training for a month at the DW Sports gym on the site of Wanderers’ former home, he returned a changed man from the player who netted just five times in 43 starts the year before.

Now, as his trainer Grimes prepares to move into a new home in Harwood, he wonders what his neighbours might think if Blackman adds to his tally tomorrow.

“I might get a bit of grief from next door,” said the 29-year-old, who has worked at the gym for three years. “There has been a bit of banter already from some of the Bolton Wanderers fans around the gym.

“I go back a long way with Nick, we grew up together. So when I offered him the chance to come in and do some work with us I was a bit worried – it was a bit like wrapping him in cotton wool at first. I kept thinking ‘what if he picks up an injury – he’d never forgive me.’

“But his attitude was amazing. He worked extremely hard, showed real improvements, and when he went back to Reading his body fat percentage was as low as it had been at any time last season. His fitness tests were great and he hit the ground running right away in pre-season.

“I don’t deserve any of the credit for what he’s done. It’s all on him. He worked so hard and I’m really proud of what he has achieved.”

Blackman went on a red-hot streak between August 25 and October 20 which saw him score 10 goals in 10 games.

He has scored against Wanderers before, too, bagging the seventh goal in the desperate “Madejski Massacre” in January last year.

Although Grimes’ allegiances lie with Manchester City, he is backing his mate to cause some problems for Neil Lennon’s struggling side.

“He’s a great player – it’s a bit of a shame that he hasn’t made his way to Bolton because at the moment I think they could use him,” he said.

“It’s mad that we did all that work over the summer where Bolton used to play and it would be just like him to get a goal.”

You can visit Stephen’s personal training page at facebook/stephengrimesPT.