TWO years ago Kevin Nolan was still watching and waiting for his first big break while Claus Jensen was strutting his stuff in the Wanderers' midfield.

Tomorrow the pair go head to head with the confident young Scouser aiming to add the dashing Dane to his growing list of conquests.

"I played with Claus a couple of times when I went on as sub and I know him well," the youngster says of the player whose transfer to Charlton two summers ago banked Wanderers a cool £4 million.

"He's a good lad and a great player who's improved himself in the Premiership.

"He's another one to test myself against."

How Wanderers handle the threat of Jensen could well determine the outcome of the Reebok game.

It will be no mean feat since the 24-year-old Dane, who joined Wanderers from Lyngby in a £1.6m deal in the summer of 98, has been in impressive form since recovering from an early-season injury.

But Nolan is no respector of reputations, as he has shown with his performances against the likes of Wise, McAllister, Batty and the rest.

He might be starry eyed about playing in the Premiership but he is determined to measure himself against the best - and the best so far is Steven Gerrard.

"I'd like to have played against Beckham to see what he was like on the pitch," he says, lamenting the fact that he had to content himself with rubbing shoulders with Veron, Scholes and Butt when he starred in the Old Trafford derby triumph in October.

"But the duel I will always remember will be against Gerrard. Before I played against him I thought he was a good player but it was only when I played against him that I realised how good he really was."