JEFF Cassar - 6ft 2ins and built like the proverbial brick outhouse - underlined the cultural peculiarities of soccer "Stateside" today when he revealed that he followed in his sister's footballing footsteps.

The big keeper, who signed for Wanderers on transfer deadline day grew up in a nation where the girls are as mad about the game as the boys.

"My brother and sister both played back home in Michigan where football is big and I followed them into it," he explained. "I started at the age of five and I've loved the game ever since."

That passion for football took Cassar into Major League Soccer with Dallas Burn and Miami Fusion and earned him representative honours at all levels from U-18 to full international.

But signing for Wanderers and getting first hand experience of the Premiership as substitute for the Aston Villa and Everton games over Easter, was head-spinning stuff for the 28-year-old.

"Being a sub in the Premiership was just crazy," he recalled of his whirlwind entry into the Reebok ranks. "I was sitting on the bench thinking 'I used to watch this stuff on TV and now I'm here.' It's just a dream come true."

Cassar, who played for the US Olympic team in 1996, admits the Reebok call came right out of the blue.

"I was down in Chile with the Dallas Burn and an agent told me Bolton were looking for a goalkeeper," he said. "We tried to set something up and, by God's good grace, I ended up making it over here.

"I was on a trial for about a week and then I signed. I'm here until the end of the season so I've got to try to impress the manager as much as I can and make him want to have me back for the next few years.

"I have had a bad string of injuries in the last few years which have kept me out of a lot of seasons. But I'm healthy now, I feel really good and feel I can perform.

"This is the best I've felt for a long time. I feel as if I'm 20 again."

Cassar hopes an impressive spell with Wanderers will rekindle his international ambitions.

"I'm not really in the picture right now for the US national team," he explained, "I haven't played much club football back home due to injuries. But now maybe, if I can get some games and do well, I can get my name back in

the hat.

"I'm probably in about the same position as Jurgen Sommer (who had one game for Wanderers last season) but we're probably in the same boat together because he's also had a string of injuries which have kept him out."

Cassar, who made his Bolton debut in Wednesday night's 2-1 reserve team victory over Everton, is not a total stranger to the game on this side of the Atlantic.

"I've played with several English players over there," he says, "and I'm good buddies with Ian Bishop (ex Man City) - I've just spent a weekend with him and his family - and Ian Woan.

"I also go way back with Joe-Max Moore at Everton. I played against him on Wednesday and he didn't score!

"I've been in England many times with youth national teams and I just love it. I've always wanted to play here and now everything has fallen into place for me with Bolton needing a keeper and things going well with the trial.

"I've always watched how Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller, Joe-Max and the other Americans over here were doing and now I'm here knocking around with them. It's awesome."

Awesome is a word Cassar also uses to describe the experience of working under Wanderers' highly-respected goalkeeping coach Fred Barber. "I've learned a lot in a short time. He sure can strike a ball! I feel the only way I can go is up working with him and the players in the locker room.

"I'm telling you, when you have a work-out with Fred before a game you sure are ready for the first shot."