EMILE Heskey handed Wanderers fans a late Christmas present in a dream derby debut and then promised: “There’s more where that came from!”

The former England striker rolled back the years to equalise 14 minutes after his arrival as a half-time substitute against bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers.

And Heskey then played a major part as Neil Lennon’s resurgent side went on to win, courtesy of Darren Pratley’s second goal in as many games.

Despite turning 37 next month, the former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker believes he can play a major role in pushing Wanderers towards play-off contention in the New Year.

“Can I hack it? Well I’m not as fit as I want to be right now but I don’t see why that can’t change,” he told The Bolton News.

“Going straight into a big derby like this was brilliant. And I’ve been in some big derbies down the years.

“There are a lot of games in the Championship but football is about how you recover.

“My experience, and people like Eidur Gudjohnsen can help the young lads here. There are players with a lot of potential and quality.

“If what we do can rub off on them and teach them better things then that’s great for me – I want to do well for Bolton Wanderers.”

Heskey turned down more lucrative opportunities from abroad to return to England after he left Australian side Newcastle Jets last summer.

He even linked-up with Blackburn in an effort to land a contract.

“I was only training at the time but I wouldn’t have turned them down if they’d asked me to stay,” he admitted.

“But returning to England was a big thing for me and my family.

“The English game is the best in the world. It’s about passion, even though weather-wise it is what it is.

“There’s a reason why people all over the world want to watch our game and you saw it out there. It’s nice to be home.”

But Heskey was only granted permission to play against Rovers on the morning of the game – which he admits was a shock to the system.

“When I went to breakfast this morning I didn’t have a clue whether I’d be playing or not,” he said. “I kept my fingers crossed but it was up in the air.

“Of course it would have been nice to know the night before but you take these things in your stride.”