Bolton dance to premier safety

FA Premiership: Staying in the Premiership, according to Sam Allardyce, will be worth £20m to Bolton Wanderers, and what price the prestige, the honour, the glory?

The men in suits with calculators inside their top pockets will have cherished this victory, but not half as much as the fans who refused to leave until, after a second lap of honour, Allardyce fulfilled his promise to dance on the pitch with Jay-Jay Okocha.

These were moments to bring out goosebumps in the most impartial of observers. The Premiership will mourn West Ham but, ultimately, Bolton deserve their prize because they have been more consistent and, when it mattered most, they have played as if immune to nerves.

So assured were Allardyce's players yesterday that at times they seemed oblivious to the financial menace that might be lurking in the First Division. A club with as strong a continental influence as Bolton might have continued falling if they were relegated but, as West Ham contemplate a mass exodus of players, Allardyce will be bargaining from a position of strength when he tries to persuade the likes of Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo not to drift away. Relegation, he had said, would set back Bolton five years but now they can build for the future.

"I feel completely drained and emotionally unstable but absolutely delighted and so relieved," said Allardyce. "It feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders and I'm floating six feet off the ground. "

With only two defeats from their last 13 games, they have shown the steady hand of a bomb-disposal expert. Allardyce's players have registered 44 points - four more than last season - to secure a third successive top-flight season for the first time since 1964.

"For the people of Bolton, we're talking history here," said Allardyce. "You'd have to go through the archives and wipe the cobwebs off the books to find the last Bolton team comparable with this one."

Only for a 10-minute spell, when Michael Ricketts had the impudence to score against his former club and news filtered through that West Ham had taken the lead against Birmingham, did things threaten to go against Bolton.

But it was not long afterwards that the tinny cheers began circulating to relay the news that events had changed in their favour at St Andrews. Franck Queudrue's red card for hacking down Ivan Campo, a decision that Middlesbrough will appeal against, reduced the chances of Steve McClaren's side scoring again.

Otherwise the match will be remembered for the rich quality of Bolton's two goals. There might not have been a better strike at the Reebok all season than that executed by Per Frandsen after 10 minutes, after dispossessing Jonathan Greening 30 yards from goal, striding forward and unleashing a shot of such venom and unerring accuracy that Mark Schwarzer was powerless even to get a touch of the ball.

This was an ideal way to disperse any lingering nerves and 10 minutes later it was 2-0, Okocha scoring with a sumptuous free-kick that curled above the defensive wall and beyond Schwarzer. Even if the goalkeeper was slow to react, it was still a moment worthy of winning any match.

To suggest Middlesbrough were demob-happy would be unfair on a team that began the day with the incentive of finishing eighth, which would have represented their most successful season in the Premiership. At times they looked the better side, but this is still a transitional period on Teesside and their manager gives the impression he is looking forward to summer.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, N'Gotty, Bergsson, Whitlow, Gardner, Mendy (Nolan 72), Frandsen, Campo, Okocha, Djorkaeff (Charlton 89), Pedersen (Andre 66). Subs Not Used: Poole, Salva. Booked: Frandsen, Mendy, N'Gotty. Goals: Frandsen 10, Okocha 21.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer, Parnaby, Riggott, Southgate, Queudrue, Greening (Ricketts 45), Boateng, Wilkshire, Juninho Paulista, Maccarone (Doriva 45), Christie (Downing 45). Subs Not Used: Crossley, Davies. Sent Off: Queudrue (78). Booked: Greening, Boateng. Goals: Ricketts 61.

Referee: R Styles.

Guardian Service