PHIL Gartside has paid tribute to the people behind Michael Ricketts' meteoric rise to the international stage.

As the Reebok goal star became the first serving Wanderers' player for 40 years to represent England, the Bolton chairman urged him to think of the team who had helped him clinch a place in Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup plans.

"Michael is a great talent," Mr Gartside acknowledged, "and it's a testimony to his hard work and the goals he has scored that he is in the England squad.

"But it is also a testimony to his manager, all the coaching staff here and the backroom team - the medical department, the physios, the psychologists, the statisticians, the fitness coaches, the dieticians ... and the players, his team-mates, who have all helped him.

"When he reflects on how far he has come in a short space of time here, I hope he thanks everyone who has played a part in his development."

The last Wanderers' player to win a full England cap was Freddie Hill, who played in two internationals in 1962.