ARTHUR Gnahoua says his experience of Sunday League football helped him cope with the mud at Mansfield on Wednesday night.

The Bolton winger came off the bench to score a dramatic late winner – just 11 minutes after Mansfield had registered a two-goal lead.

And though the former Macclesfield Town man wondered before the game if the match could be postponed for a third time, he was certainly glad it lasted the course as he made light work of the mud with his third goal of the season.

“When I was younger I’d train on bad pitches, so I think I’m used to it. They don’t really bother me,” he said of the Field Mill quagmire.

“It helped a lot playing in the Sunday League and stuff.

“I am not going to use the pitch as an excuse – but you get on with it. When I first turned up I was like ‘how are we going to play on this?’ But it’s alright, it’s good.

“There was some good football. And I think it looks really bad but when you actually play on it the pitch isn’t that bad.”

With orders from Ian Evatt to “be positive” and get some shots away, Gnahoua stole the headlines with a superb right-footed finish to lift the Whites into 11th spot in League Two.

He would rather not be known as an impact player but accepts there is plenty of competition for places in the current forward line.

“Sometimes it’s good to hear me being called a super sub, but it’s probably better to be starting games. I don’t mind coming on and winning a game like that,” he said.

“It’s the manager’s choice. I hope I have given him something to think about. I have to try the best I can.

“We know if we are not having a good game that there will be someone who can come in to replace us.”

Wednesday night was the first time since 2004 that a Bolton side had fought back from a two-goal deficit to win a game away from home in the league.

Kevin Nolan, Youri Djorkaeff and Stelios were on the scoresheet when Wanderers came back from 3-1 down to beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in the Premier League.

And Gnahoua reckons the result shows the character within Evatt’s dressing room.

“It shows we have that fighting spirit. We always have the quality to bring the game back, so we should never give up,” he said.

“We feel like we can win against any team now. We have the quality.

“We have to win one at a time now. That is the focus.

“Every team in this league is good. We cannot think that it will be easy even if we are favourites.”