NEWS of Wanderers' progress to the Carling Cup Final brought a smile back on Jay-Jay Okocha's face after the bitter disappointment of Nigeria's shock defeat in their opening game in the African Nations Cup.

The Reebok skipper was stunned by the Super Eagles' 1-0 defeat by Morocco on Tuesday.

But he was cheered when he saw Wanderers complete a 5-4 aggregate victory over Aston Villa later in the day and left an extended message on Sam Allardyce's answer machine to congratulate his team-mates.

"He sounded a bit despondent about Nigeria's defeat," the manager said, "but he was very, very happy that we'd got through to the final. He played a major part in getting the 5-2 first leg victory but also helped with the taped message he left for the lads, which we played on the way to the game."

Okocha could be back in Bolton next week if Nigeria fail to beat South Africa in the second of their group games on Saturday but he is confident of extending his stay in Tunisia.

"We thought we were just going to win it and it was going to be easy," he admitted. "When we realised it needed more effort to win it, it was a bit late.

"But have to forget about it now and just try to do better in our next game.

"For us South Africa on Saturday is a must-win game. Anything less than victory and we are heading home. Some of us have played in a few Nations Cups, but for others this is their first. Our approach to the game was not right."

He still feels Nigeria have a chance of repeating the Nations Cup triumph he helped secure in Tunisia a decade ago.

"I think we still have a very good chance of winning this tournament if we take it up a level," he added.

"Maybe it's good that we lost because we can now pick ourselves up. We have to give everything."