Bolton Wanderers captain Kevin Nolan admits he revels in the admiration coming from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson once said he would love to sign the Scouser - if only to stop him scoring against his team.

In 2001 Nolan, 25, found the net as Bolton won 2-1 at Old Trafford. And he repeated the trick with the winner in 2002.

He said: "I try to give my best every week but I've been fortunate to get chances against United - and I've taken them.

"It's great to be named as a player that Sir Alex is looking at but I've always been dedicated to Bolton."