ONE day someone will suggest they erect a statue in his honour, name a street after him or give him the Freedom of the Borough.

Maybe the town fathers will shy away from anything so grand but, whatever is done in his honour, no-one will ever underestimate the impact John McGinlay has made since he joined the Wanderers.

Now into his fifth year, the Scotsman from Fort William, has etched his name indelibly into the history of the club and the town.

The legendary Nat Lofthouse apart, McGinlay must rate among the best of the Burnden favourites. His story is the stuff of fairy tales and this week's heroics in the Reading game wrote yet another amazing chapter.

There's always been something distinctly Boys' Own about the John McGinlay story - the man from the building sites who rose through the part-time ranks of the Highland League to fulfil his dream at the age of 30 when he won his first Scotland cap.

And in true Roy of the Rovers fashion, he scored on his international debut!

Great Scot that he is, it's McGinlay's love affair with Bolton that really captures the imagination.

There were raised eyebrows when Bruce Rioch brought the travellin' man from Millwall to Wanderers in September 1992. In his previous appearance at Burnden, he'd scored a hat-trick to help Bury to a 3-1 Division Three win.

The fee, initially understated at £100,000 but officially registered at £140,000, was hardly a king's ransom but was sizeable enough for Wanderers in those days. Today, four years on, it represents one of the best pieces of transfer business conducted since they signed an entire FA Cup winning team for £110.

Departing chief scout Ian McNeill has built a reputation down the years for helping clubs make fortunes on players recruited at bargain prices and sold on for millions. But he has no hesitation in naming the player who has given him most satisfaction.

"John McGinlay!" he quickly confirms. "I took from non-league and I've had him everywhere I've been. He's special."

It's impossible to measure the contribution McGinlay has made to the club's resurgence. His sensational header in the the first of the great giant killings at Anfield and the penalty against Preston that clinched promotion 15 minutes from the end of the final day of that first season must have been worth a small fortune in themselves.

But McGinlay has turned out to be a man for every season and every big occasion.

He epitomises the spirit of the club, lives in the town, is determined to raise his family in the town and, despite the fact that his contract with Wanderers expires next Spring, is looking no further than kicking off the 1997-98 season in the new stadium and back in the Premiership.

And only a fool would back against him doing just that.

You just can't keep the man out of the headlines. Goalscorer and goalkeeper in Tuesday's dramatic victory over Reading, McGinlay got what he wanted on Thursday when he kept his place in the Scotland squad after being involved in that three second World Cup farce in Estonia.

But don't imagine for one minute that Craig Brown's decision was based on sentiment. The Scotland boss has followed his set policy of picking the players in form and, as Colin Todd points out with immense satisfaction: "John is playing extremely well."

It's a simple assessment but it's all you need to say about the 32-year-old striker who continues to live up to his status as one of Wanderers all-time folk heroes.

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