Former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce, now with local rivals Blackburn, has blamed people 'behind the scenes' at The Reebok for stirring things to wind the fans up. Allardyce is apparently still unhappy with the poor reception he received from Wanderers fans upon his return to Bolton for the first time when in charge of Newcastle almost two years ago.

"Certain people at Bolton Wanderers Football Club tried to wind up the fans to get that sort of reaction and it worked in a small minority," the Rovers boss said.

"I think in general - I still live in Bolton - I never get a bad word when someone meets me on the street.

"That was just a wind up by people behind the scenes who thought that might be a good thing to do. It didn't actually work though because we won."