DEAN Holdsworth reflected in the glory of the lucky matchwinning strike that snatched victory for Wanderers over mighty Liverpool and declared: "This is why we stayed!"

Holdsworth was one of four senior players who signed new deals after helping the club secure promotion last season - Gudni Bergsson, Paul Warhurst and Ian Marshall were the others - and their decisions appear to be paying off with Wanderers making a flying start to the season, shock leaders of the Premiership after winning their first three games.

"It's exciting just to be around for these sort of games," the Reebok hero said after his 89th minute matchwinner secured a 2-1 win against a star-studded Liverpool side that had not lost a competitive game since April 13.

"You look forward to it every day. You wake up every morning knowing you're going to be playing against the likes of Liverpool and putting Bolton on a par with them - some of the best players in the world.

"It's fantastic. And beating them is a massive result for us. Before the game we'd have settled for anything but to get ourselves in a winning position then to concede the equaliser was a bit daunting. They (Liverpool) did look a real threat from then on. It shows what quality they have when they can bring Emile Heskey on as substitute! We gave them a lot of respect, which they deserved.

"But the win has got everyone buzzing. Everyone is getting their rewards for the hard work."

Holdsworth, who joined Wanderers in September 1997 when they were last in the Premiership, paid tribute to the defenders who laid the foundation for one of the most memorable of all Reebok victories.

"They defended for about 80 minutes and did it professionally and Jussi's (Jaaskelainen) fantastic save from Heskey was a matchwinning save."