UNLIKE the Murphys of TV advertising fame - Simon Coleman is honest enough to admit, he's bitter.

The Wanderers centre-half, itching to make up for lost time and lost glory, will never forget the tackle that put his career on hold and cost him two Wembley appearances.

The date: February 26, 1995; the venue: the Baseball Ground; the circumstances: a collision with Derby's Marco Gabbiadini which put him out of first team football for a year.

Coleman made a successful recovery from that broken leg, hitting the headlines again with a sensational comeback - scoring at his old club Middlesbrough in Wanderers' first away win in the Premiership. And he is ready again to force his way back into the reckoning after another frustrating injury lay-off.

Nevertheless, he admits to a lingering sense of anger as he reflects on the day he was stopped so suddenly and sadly in his tracks.

Coleman says: "I know I'll probably have to play against Gabbiadini again at some stage of my career but I don't care.

"When people say there is no bitterness after incidents like that, I just don't believe them.

"I have a lot of bitterness towards him. In the back of my mind I know what happened that day.

"I was playing the best football of my career and the broken leg meant I missed out on sharing in the promotion and two appearances at Wembley."

The accomplished defender, who proved an instant hit with Burnden fans with a string of outstanding performances following his £350,000 transfer from Sheffield Wednesday, recovered well enough to chalk up 12 Premiership appearances but blames his own enthusiasm for his latest setback.

He was so determined to make the most of his pre-season programme that he ignored a slight, niggling injury and eventually paid the penalty, limping out of the friendly at Hull with a calf injury which eventually aggravated an Achilles problem and has kept him out of Wanderers' barnstorming start in the league and Coca-Cola Cup.

"I tried to run the injury off because I'd missed pre-season last year," he confessed. "Looking back, if I'd rested it for four or five days, I'd probably have been all right.

"Missing the start of the season has been frustrating, worse than last year really because I always knew the broken leg was going to keep me out of action until at least Christmas. This has been extra frustrating but it makes me more determined to do well when I get back."

After two reserve and one 'A' team outing, Coleman believes he is just a couple of reserve games short of being ready for first team action. But a gap in the Pontins League programme has added to his frustrations.

"I just need a bit more competitive action," he says. "I can run all day but it's games I need more than anything now.

"I'm itching to get back in and I know it's going to be tough because the team's been going so well. There's strong competition for places, especially at the back, and that can only be good for the club.

"It means you have to do well when you get your chance, otherwise you'll lose your place. That's what I'll be looking to do, just as soon as I get the chance."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.