SAM Allardyce should have no trouble persuading Ivan Campo to stay on next season if Wanderers beat the drop.
The Spaniard has made it clear that he will not stick around to play in the Nationwide League - not that Wanderers could afford him if they were relegated - but he will consider a future in England if it means playing Premiership football.
The man from Real Madrid has such a high regard for his adopted club and temporary manager that he would favour a Reebok deal while Allardyce makes no bones about his admiration of the mop-haired defender.
The jury is still out on Campo with support divided between recognition of his undoubted ability and fear that his cavalier style is a liability Wanderers can ill afford.
The manager acknowledges the reservations but believes the pros outweigh the cons and in talent terms speaks of the Spaniard in the same breath as World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff and the gifted Jay-Jay Okocha.
"He has a quality on the ball," Allardyce explains. "A natural ability to see passes and, while he can leave many of our fans and myself holding our breath at times, I can tell you that most of our lads here have had a real eye opener witnessing his ability to receive the ball in tight areas and being able to cope with it."
Campo and Allardyce have contemptuously dismissed Rodney Marsh's insulting remarks suggesting the former Champions League regular was an out-of-condition ale house player.
As they do with all their players, Wanderers have made a detailed, scientific assessment of his contribution and, although they were not happy with his condition when he first arrived, there are no concerns about his fitness, his workrate and his benefit to the team.
"His Prozone stats prove it," the manager confirms. "Maybe his hairstyle doesn't help in terms of his appearance and he was not fit when he first came because he hadn't played a game for Real Madrid for 12 months.
"It's a bit unfortunate that he is not blessed with pace. There's nothing much we can really do about that but he more than makes up because he can read a game better than anyone."
Campo admits he found it difficult to begin with adjusting to the Premiership but says he is grateful to his team-mates and the Bolton fans for helping him and for being patient.
"I'm gradually getting a little bit more to the speed of the game and starting to show better form," he claims. "Hopefully I can continue to improve."
For all the apparent confidence that comes from having played for one of the greatest teams on the planet, Campo seems determined, almost desperate, to win the respect and support of the Wanderers' fans.
On the face of it, it seems a foolish question to ask him to compare life at the Reebok with his days at the world famous Bernabeu. But, through his interpreter, he explains why he chose Bolton and why he has grown so attached to the place.
"If you've been a player at Madrid, you do have options," he says as a statement of fact rather than a boast. "But as soon as I came here and had a chat with Sam I liked the way he talked about the club, his ambitions and the prospects.
"I was impressed with the ground and the facilities here. And the decision I made to come here is not something I look back on with any regret. I've enjoyed my time here and it's an opportunity I have loved.
"It is everyone's boyhood dream to play at the Bernabeu but when I went back to Spain to talk to my colleagues before I signed for Bolton, I told them about the impressive facilities here.
"This is a modern stadium with great facilities and the supporters are so close to the pitch that it is more intimate than in Madrid. I like that."
There is clearly a mutual respect between the player and the manager - even though Campo's playing style is less disciplined than Allardyce would normally prefer and Big Sam's management style is in stark contrast to what the Spaniard has been used to at Real.
"Vicente del Bosque has a lot of superstars to deal with but he is a laid-back kind of guy and has a laid back attitude," Campo says of the Real boss. "What I like about it here is that Sam gets everybody 'at it'. He gets at the players, constantly keeping pressure on them to get the best out of their ability, always supporting, always encouraging so that in key moments in games, they can produce 100 per cent."
Campo says he has never had a boot kicked at him "Fergie-style" but suggests Allardyce does not need missiles to get his point across when angered.
"When it comes to telling us off, he's in a league of his own." the Spaniard says with a wry smile.
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