JAY-JAY Okocha is prepared to put his international comeback on hold to ensure Wanderers stay clear of the relegation trapdoor.

The Reebok superstar has been named in the Super Eagles' squad for their vital African Nations Cup qualifier in Malawi after reconsidering his decision to retire from the international scene.

But he is determined to channel every ounce of effort into the fight for Premiership survival and, although the Malawi game falls on a free domestic weekend (March 28-29) between the home games against Spurs and Manchester City, he is anxious to avoid any unnecessary distractions that might affect his form.

"I'm not sure to be going yet," he revealed after his inspirational performance in Wanderers's 2-0 win at Sunderland on Saturday. "I still have to speak to them (the Nigerian authorities) because we are still in a very difficult situation here. If we can get more points before then, I will go. But it is still all about Bolton as far as I am concerned."

Okocha's club before country stance will cheer Wanderers' fans who have seen the supremely-gifted midfielder confirm his return to the form that built his reputation as one of the most skilful and most admired players on the planet.

And they will be further heartened by his unshakable belief that he will be playing Premiership football at the Reebok next season.

"I think we made a big step towards that on Saturday," he said confidently.

"Hopefully we will get some more points soon but, without a doubt, I believe we will stay in the Premiership."

Successive managers - Sir Alex Ferguson, Gerard Houllier and Mick McCarthy - have acknowledged Okocha's talent and his contribution to the Wanderers'

cause but his influence was never more apparent than at the Stadium of Light where he displayed an array of skills in a fixture that was vital to both clubs and tested the nerves and the characters of the respective managers, players and supporters.

But Okocha did not appear to be at all inhibited by the pressure and, after revelling in his most impressive performance since joining Wanderers from Paris St Germain last summer, revealed how he hopes others will follow his lead.

"I'm trying to do the best I can, trying to be myself and trying not to be nervous because of our situation," he explained. "I'm trying to bring a calmness to the group, trying to make them realise it is still a sport, still a game. If we can take it easy and not be nervous, we can win some games. And on Saturday it paid off.

"We knew about Sunderland's situation and, having lost our last game, we were a bit nervous before the game but during the game we showed our experience. We were very calm and tried to control it and everything went according to plan.

"It was a very important win for us. We knew that this was our big chance of widening the distance between ourselves and Sunderland and we managed to do that."

Readily admitting that he got lucky when Sunderland keeper Thomas Sorensen turned his cross into his own net for Wanderers' first goal, Okocha conceded: "It was a fluke." But he was proud of the trick that wrong-footed Black Cats skipper Michael Gray to create the chance and smiled broadly as he insisted: "That was not a fluke!"