GERRY Taggart returns to Oakwell for the first time tonight, confident that he can show his old Barnsley fans the form that earned their club a record-breaking pay day.

More importantly, the big Ulsterman is happy in his own mind that he's starting to give Bolton fans full value for the £1.5 million that brought him across the Pennines two summers ago.

Sky TV's Friday night special is a game Taggart admits he's been looking forward to all season and he's in just the right mood to make his mark on the top of the table clash.

"I was playing the best football of my career just before I left Barnsley," says the Belfast boy. "Last season was a total nightmare but now, even though I think I can get better, I'm back at my best.

"In fact, I'm probably stronger mentally than I've ever been."

The big fee has a lot to do with that. Eyebrows were raised when Wanderers shelled out more than three-times their previous record to tempt Tykes boss Danny Wilson to part with the Northern Ireland international. And there were some who took every opportunity to remind them of the size of their investment as his season in the Premiership turned into a succession of stop-start frustrations.

Taggart came back from the disappointment of relegation hoping for an injury-free pre-season and determined to make up for a plagued Premiership.

"I decided I had to make an extra special effort because I hadn't done at all well," he admits. "Bolton had forked out a lot of money for me and I hadn't done anything to justify the size of the fee.

"Mentally I was determined to do well and I think that's paid off."

Barnsley will always hold a special place in Taggart's heart. He was always the fans' favourite there but ambition softened the blow of leaving after almost six years.

"There comes a time when, however much you like a club, you know it's right to move on," he explains.

"It wasn't that I didn't like the club any more; it was just a case of Bolton being in the Premiership. I'd tried and failed six times to get up there with Barnsley.

"Okay, we were relegated and tonight we meet Barnsley on level terms but I think we are a better side than last year and things are really going well for us.

"No disrespect to any of the players who have left but we look more balanced as a unit and we have a great team spirit - the best I've ever known.

"Sasa (Curcic) might have been a flair player going forward but we lacked depth in defence and that is different now.

"I still think we can defend better but we are such an attack-minded side that we're always capable of scoring goals. As long as we score more than we concede, I'll be happy."

Taggart still lives seven miles from Oakwell and knows many of the players he will come face to face with tonight.

He knows the challenge and knows that for the rest of the Bolton players, this will be just another game. But he can't ignore his happy days at Oakwell and admits: "It's got to have an extra bit of spice for me. Mel Machin took me there and gave me my chance and I later worked under Danny Wilson who I am sure will make a very good manager when he gets a bit more experience."

But it's the Barnsley fans who hold the fondest memories. "They took to me from the moment I arrived and they stayed with me all the time I played there," he recalls.

"It's going to be quite a night for me."

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