RICHARD Sneekes is almost ashamed to admit it, but he he is too busy running his Italian restaurant and raising a family to reflect on the good old days at Burnden Park.

Yet, with just a little prompting, the sharpshooting Dutchman speaks fondly of the family atmosphere that made life with the Wanderers so enjoyable.

He reflects ethusiastically about his respect for Bruce Rioch, the manager who first brought him to England, and proudly of having played in the 1995 Coca Cola Cup Final.

"Unfortunately, I only got a loser's medal but playing at Wembley for Bolton was the pinnacle of my career,"he said.

"But it's 10 years ago and, as stupid as it sounds, I find it hard to picture myself in a Bolton shirt.

"I really have to look at the videos and the shirts to remind me of those games. You move on. I've got a restaurant, property interests and a family which means there are thousands of other things to think about.

"Nevertheless, I still have great affection for Bolton and happy memories of my time there.

"It was a family club something I didn't find at other clubs and Bruce was a fantastic manager.

"He could be firm, but he was a lovely man and I think he was the beginning of what Bolton is today a top Premiership team."

Sneekes, a graduate of the Ajax academy, who had Dutch masters Rijkaard, Koeman, Van Basten and Bergkamp among his team-mates (Bergkamp used to deliver newspapers to his house), joined Wanderers in August, 1994, in a £160,000 transfer from Fortuna Sittard.

He planned just a short stay but, 11 years on, he is still in England in the Midlands where he enjoyed a five-season stint with West Brom and, although he and his wife, Shirley, will return to Holland one day, he admits it will be difficult to uproot their five children, aged three to 21.

"The kids have grown up here three of them were born in England and they've all lived as English kids,"Sneekes said.

"They like going to Holland to visit relatives, but we go back less and less. I was only planning to stay three years and see what life would bring but one contract led to another."

Having played four times as many games for West Brom as he did for Wanderers, 36-year-old Sneekes has strong ties with the Baggies and was delighted to see them secure their Premiership status.

But the man who talked his way into trouble as a young hot-head in Amsterdam has only recently returned to The Hawthorns after falling out with previous manager, Gary Megson.

He said: "I didn't want to support the club when Megson was there but I've started going again and met Bryan Robson a couple of times he seems a nice man.

"Staying in the Premiership is just what they needed. They have the potential to be massive, if they can do what Bolton and Charlton have done."

Ironically, Sneekes feared he would be sent packing after a disappointing performance at Dunfermline in the first of three trial matches on Wanderers' 1994 summer tour of Scotland. But he soon made his presence felt.

"Thankfully, I played well and scored four goals in the next two games (at Ross County and Caledonian Thistle) and everything took off from there."he said.

"That first season was fantastic. Bruce brought in Mixu Paatelainen, Simon Coleman and Fabian De Freitas and later Gudni Bergsson. None of them were big stars but the mix was right. He got the club to the Premiership, which was a dream come true. I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Checking out the league of nations Sam Allardyce has assembled 14 nationalities at the last count imports were a rarity when Sneekes arrived. He took the "foreign"contingent of Rioch's squad to four, and two of them were Scots!

But the continentals soon captured the imagination with Sneekes' old mate Bergkamp establishing himself as one of the best.

"He was a centre-half at 17 but out of the blue Johan Cruyff stuck him on the right wing in a European tie against Malmo,"he recalled. "He played a blinder and never looked back.

"There weren't that many foreigners here when I came, but clubs in England realised there were good players on the continent who were on lower wages even though they weren't all that good here and they soon started to look to Europe.

"The only question was whether an individual player could adjust to the life here.

"Thanks to Bolton, I had no problems."