THE man who masterminded some of Wanderers’ greatest FA Cup nights is tipping his former charge Owen Coyle to use the competition for inspiration in his own fight against relegation.

Bruce Rioch, Wanderers’ manager in the famous victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton in the early 1990s, is sure the man currently occupying the hot seat can guide the club to safety.

Bolton meet another of his former clubs tomorrow in a fifth round game that could be deemed somewhat of a distraction, considering there are just 13 games left to ensure a 12th consective season in the Premier League at the Reebok Stadium.

But Rioch, who arguably kickstarted the resurgence at Burnden Park when he arrived 20 years ago, believes strongly that the cup can still bring good cheer to Coyle and Co this season.

“It is Owen’s toughest test yet as a manager,” he told The Bolton News. “In my experience, it’s easy when you are winning games and people are throwing praise your way. You really learn what the job is all about when things go against you and you can’t do the job the way you want to do it.

“This is probably the first time he has really come under serious examination, but he was always a determined person. He knew what he wanted as a player, and he won’t have changed.

“You knew if Owen was out of the team that he’d been knocking on the door the next morning to find out why. But he’s enthusiastic, motivated and he won’t give up without a fight, that’s for sure.

“I’m a firm believer that winning sparks confidence no matter what competition you are in. And confidence is paramount.”

Rioch, who signed Coyle from Airdrieonians in 1993 for £250,000, believes the basement battle will be won with hearts and minds.

“I believe they can stay up, but the important thing is that they do too,” said the former Scotland international, who also managed the likes of Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Norwich.

“As a manager, what you want to think at 2.30pm when you look around the dressing room is that ‘he can score, so can he, he can pick a pass, he’ll put his body on the line for you’.

“You need that trust in your players and there can’t be any doubt in your mind.

“There are six or seven clubs down there. The ones who survive will be the ones who have been brave.”

Rioch arrived at Wanderers after a mixed 18-month spell at Millwall, during which he breifly presided over the team before their relegation to the second tier, and took them to the play-offs the following season.

But off the pitch, a series of problems were mounting up.

“The football club was a stock market company back then so we had to be very astute with the way we bought and sold players,” he said. “You certainly couldn't go and spend money as and when you wanted to.

“For example, one year the chairman said to me we had to raise £3million from players sales but that by the end of the tax year, i.e. the April, we would be allowed to spend £2m. That's the way it went.

“We redeveloped the team and brought in a lot of young players like Alex Rae, Colin Cooper, Paul Kerr, Chris Armstrong and John Goodman, who all realised good transfer fees in the end.

“My second year wasn't so good but I still maintain a lot of that was to do with what was going on away from the pitch. The staff I had there were fantastic.”

But Millwall's loss was Wanderers' gain, and after a few months in the wilderness, Rioch was installed at Burnden Park, calling quickly on some of his former charges in South East London who went on to become bona fide legends in the North West.

“Keith Branagan wasn't wanted at Millwall because they already had Kasey Keller, who I had brought in from America,” explained Rioch. “But we felt he had a real future and was able to get him on a free transfer. He went on to play internationally and, of course, played such a huge part in getting the club into the Premier League.

“Then I think I'd paid £60,000 for John McGinlay at Millwall but had to spend £100,000 to get him at Bolton. I think it was money worth paying in the end, mind you.”

Rioch was even picking up bargains at Millwall's reserves, even though he was playing for the opposite team at the time.

“I lived in Edgworth for the majority of the time but every once in a while I'd go back to Hertfordshire, and it was on one of those trips I decided to watch Millwall's reserves against Crystal Palace,” he said.

“Gudni Bergsson was playing for Palace and I liked the look of him, so when I got back I made a few phone calls and it turned out Tottenham wanted £250,000 for him. We haggled a bit and ended up getting him for £65,000. I still consider that one of the best bits of business I've ever done. An absolute steal, because he was not only a fantastic player, but also a great person.”

Rioch still looks back fondly on his time at Bolton, which ended when an offer from Arsenal came in just before they embarked back in the big time, “Life is eventful and so is football. I'd worked at Middlesbrough and had some great times there.

“But my spell at Bolton is right up there too. It was a wonderful club.

“You looked around that dressing room and you had the noisy Scots like McGinlay and Walker, the funny Scousers like Kelly, Stubbs or McAteer, the keepers Aidan Davison and Branagan, who were both really strong characters, or the serious ones like Mixu.

“It was a rich tapestry but that squad knitted together so well. There was always such a lot going on – when people like Fabian de Freitas came in from a completely different culture he must have wondered what hit him.”

Rioch currently lives in Cornwall and is hoping to get back on the coaching ladder.

Read more from the former Wanderers boss in tomorrow's edition of The Bolton News.