KEVIN Nolan paid a personal tribute to Sam Allardyce today, hailing his manager and mentor as the man who has guided him to the fringe of international honours.

"It's because of the gaffer that I am a pro now," said the young Wanderers' skipper.

"All the success I've had, as well as what I have done for myself, has been down to him.

"I can't thank him enough. He's been absolutely fantastic for me."

Nolan, who has been playing through the pain of a rib injury in recent weeks, is expected to return against Manchester City today after being rested for the FA Cup tie at Doncaster.

Allardyce goes into the game with the bonus of having been named Barclays Manager of the Month for December, when Wanderers won five of their six Premiership games to establish themselves as a serious Champions League contenders.

And Nolan, for one, is thankful that the man who gave him his first break in senior football seven years ago missed out on the England manager's job last season.

"It would have been upsetting for me, if we had lost him to England," he added.

"It's given me another year with him and, hopefully, there will be many more to come."

Nolan, meanwhile, has moved to put the record straight after comments he made regarding Jussi Jaaskelainen after the keeper's heroics at Aston Villa were misinterpreted in certain sections of the media.

Typical of the banter that goes on in the dressing room, he joked about not going over-the-top in his praise for the Mighty Finn for fear of him becoming big-headed.

"I was misquoted," Nolan said. "I think Jussi's the best keeper in the Premiership and I wouldn't swap him for the world.

"But you couldn't seriously suggest Jussi would ever get big-headed. Quite the opposite. He's the most modest man you could ever wish to meet."