IT'S not every day that a team of young amateur footballers get a dressing down from a top Premiership manager.

But for a group of Westhoughton lads, being on the end of a fiery blast from Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce was all make believe when the youngsters from Westhoughton Warriors filmed a TV advert.

But once the cameras stopped rolling the lads were back playing in the Bolton Boys and Girls under 11 Federation Division Two under the watchful eye of their real manager Ian Bullough.

And team member Jake Marsh said: "Sam was a bit frightening when he was shouting at us.

"Our manager isn't like that at all. He's always encouraging us and tells us how well we are doing."

It is team spirit, rather than results, that count for the squad currently languishing in the lower half of the division.

"We just enjoy playing our football," said 11-year-old right back Adam Bullough. "We're not as good as some of the other teams, but we have a good laugh."

Adam, along with 11-year-olds Jack Berry, Jake Marsh, and Jack Hindley and nine-year-old Jack Davies, can currently be seen getting a half-time dressing down from Big Sam in the latest Barclays advert.

The boys were chosen to play team members with other young players from teams from around the North-west.

In the advert Allardyce does not pull his punches as he rants and raves at his players over their poor performance in the first half of a football match - even telling them at one point to grow up.

"Sam was really nice to all of us, he came and shook all our hands," said left midfielder Jack Davies. But the youngster added: "When he was acting mad in front of the cameras, it was really frightening."

"The people doing the filming told him to calm down a bit because he was shouting too loudly," said Jack Berry.

The Warriors players were hand-picked for the advert after weeks of selection procedures which ended with a mad dash to the final audition straight after a game.

Manager Ian Bullough said: "We got a call from the production company asking if we'd go for another audition. I told them that we'd just finished playing a game and they said to come straight down. So the team turned up in their muddy kits and they said That's exactly what we're after'."

The players had a long day when it came to filming at a recreation ground in Salford.

"We had to be there for about eight o'clock in the morning and didn't get home until about six at night. We played football in the breaks between filming, but it was still a bit cold wearing our kit all day," said Adam.

It is the latest boost to the team, which is still in its first season. It kicked off the year by landing a kit sponsorship deal with Horwich heating engineering business M.H. Cragg and Sons, which was impressed at the fighting spirit of the young players.

"We've had support from everywhere," said Ian. "Results haven't gone our way so far, but we are getting better."

Jack Berry's father Tony is part of legendary folk group The Houghton Weavers.

"It's not fair, really," said Tony. "It's our 30th anniversary this year, and they're getting more telly time than us at the moment."