'Unheard of' - Ex-Bolton defender on Sam Allardyce's Wanderers success & Fernando Hierro 'aura'

Nicky Hunt has reflected on one of Bolton Wanderers' golden era under former boss Sam Allardyce in the Premier League and revealed the secrets to his former manager's success with the Whites.

Hunt came through the youth team ranks at Wanderers and made more than 160 appearances for the club after making his debut in 2001. His time at the Whites coincided with a string of top half finishes in the top flight under Allardyce.

It also included a couple of campaigns in Europe in the UEFA Cup, under Allardyce and later Gary Megson. Allardyce left Wanderers in 2007 towards the conclusion of the 2006/07 campaign.

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Hunt has now spoken on the strengths of Allardyce in those early 2000s where the club had some of its best moments in its history, as well as the numerous high profile sides they encountered while in European competition. And the defender believes the sustained success Wanderers had was 'unheard of' for the size of the club, as well as pointing to the technical and sports science based approach which Allardyce employed and Hunt feels his former boss does not get enough credit for.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Hunt said: "He had an aura. He was a man to be reckoned with but he was incredibly approachable which I found helpful as a young lad. He was direct in what he wanted from each player, but also how players behaved away from the pitch.

"He had a presence about him where if you did something wrong, he'd let you know. It was sink or swim in a way but also, and I don't think he gets enough credit for this, he was ahead of his time. He used all kinds of stats, such as physical stats, psychological stats. We had an in-house