DEPRESSED Wanderers fans wept so much about their team's relegation that they organised a FUNERAL to get the sorrow out of their system. Supporters who drink in the Queen's Head, Horwich, "buried" a club in the pub cellar for grief relief after the Super Whites' were relegated from the Premiership.

Landlord Barry Johnson said: "The regulars here are Bolton barmy and were distraught when Wanderers went down.

"The funeral is a tradition we started two years ago to help the more fanatical fans cope with their bereavement."

The 4ft-long black coffin, stuffed full of Wanderers' scarves, shirts and season tickets, was given the last rites and lowered into the Queen's darkened cellar during a service yesterday. Mourners earlier drowned their sorrows during a wake which involved a pub crawl with the casket through Horwich, near Wanderers' Reebok stadium.

The coffin, made by locals when the Trotters were relegated two years ago, had been pride of place next to the bar when the team was fighting for survival in the Premiership.

It will now rest in peace on a cellar shelf until Wanderers return to the top flight.

But Mr Johnson said everyone at the Lee Lane pub was confident they would be celebrating the club's "rebirth" with promotion from Division One next season.

"At the moment Bolton are up and down like a yo-yo and that has meant us going up and down the cellar steps every year," he said. "But we're all just praying next season we can bring the coffin back up to the bar for good."

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