I’VE had a running joke with Fabrice Muamba about his lack of goals, telling him before each game that I’ve got a bet on him to score.

But I won’t be pulling his leg anymore after he finally broke his Reebok duck in that terrific victory over Wigan.

The kid’s been one of the team’s unsung heroes but he grabbed the spotlight on Saturday — not only with his goal but with yet another outstanding, hard-working performance.

He reminds me very much of my old Bolton team-mate Jason McAteer.

True, Jason used to chip in with quite a few goals, but in terms of covering every inch of ground and workrate, they are like peas in a pod.

It was an afternoon of firsts: a first goal for another of the hard workers, Johan Elmander; Kevin Davies scoring the first penalty of his professional career; and Matty Taylor going on as substitute and scoring with his first touch.

You could see with the reaction of all the players that they were genuinely delighted for Fabrice and Johan. They appreciate what they do for the team and were chuffed to see them get their rewards for all their hard work.

It spoke volumes for Davo’s leadership qualities that he was prepared to step up and take that penalty — even though he’d never taken one before. I spoke to him after the game and he said he just looked round and saw no one else fancied it.

I’ve told him he should quit now and keep his 100 per cent record.

It could have been a bit more awkward than it was because Wigan had a penalty turned down and, at 1-0, Jussi Jaaskelainen showed again why he is one of the best in the business with a crucial save.

But it was all very comfortable in the end and the lads played some good football. Owen Coyle will have thrown a lot of bouquets at the lads after the game and I’m sure he’ll have told them to go out and enjoy their weekend. But it’s back to business now with a tough-looking trip to Everton on Saturday and a couple of difficult home games against Manchester United and Aston Villa.

But they should be full of confidence and if they can keep it tight early on at Goodison, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get a good result there.

And I’m sure neither United nor Villa will fancy coming to the Reebok when they look at how well the team has been doing at home recently.

It came as a shock to me when I heard Phil Brown had lost his job at Hull on Monday.

Brownie was my captain here at Bolton and I think the world of him. He did a great job at Hull, getting them in the Premier League and keeping them there. I know they’ve had a bad time recently but I think there’s more to it than just results.

It just goes to prove that no job is safe in football these days.