THAT was a real collective effort at St Andrews on Saturday – an absolutely brilliant team effort that saw Owen Coyle once again make full use of his squad with substitutions playing a big part.

But it was significant that the two players who stood out – Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies – were our two most experienced players on the field.

When you look at big cup games like that one, you look to your big game players to stand up and be counted and Davo and Jussi did that to great effect.

Jussi could not have marked his 500th appearance for the club with two more important saves and Davo’s all-round performance – never mind winning and scoring the penalty for the second goal and his superb header to set up Chung-Yong Lee for the winner – was outstanding.

Davo at his inspirational best.

These players, more than any others, know what this means to Bolton Wanderers and I’m delighted for them both that they’ve got Wembley to look forward to.

I’M celebrating but I must admit to having mixed feelings about having to play Stoke in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

We’re heading for Wembley and it’s going to be a great occasion but, for me, the joy of Saturday’s win at Birmingham was tempered the following day when the draw paired us with another of my old clubs – a club that has always had a special place in my heart.

And for that reason I wanted a Bolton-Stoke final.

Don’t get me wrong, I might have a soft spot for Stoke – they were the fans who gave me my Zico nickname and I had a great year and a bit there – but Bolton is my club and my life and while I’m delighted for all those fans down in the Potteries who I’m regularly in contact with, there will be no question of divided loyalties.

Not that I’m going to let the cup distract me over the next few weeks . . . there are three more Premier League games before the semi-final and that’s our bread and butter.

Owen and his staff will be thinking along those lines. The weekend was for celebration but I’m sure when the players reported for training yesterday, it would have been made clear to them that the cup was now on the back burner until the time is right.

The only thing that matters this week is preparing for the Manchester United game on Saturday and I’m pretty sure the backroom boys would have spent Sunday looking at every aspect of United – their players, their strengths and their weaknesses.

When we had those good cup runs in the 1990s, Bruce Rioch always used to impress on us that we had to get our minds straight back onto the next game to make sure there were no hangovers, none of that “after the Lord Mayor’s Show” stuff.

And it’s just the same nowadays. We want to finish as high up the league as we possibly can . . . and what better way to approach the Stoke game when it does come around than knowing you’ve banked a few more league points?

I DON’T want to sound like a killjoy at such an exciting time but I’m not a fan of FA Cup semi-finals being played at Wembley.

You can call me old-fashioned if you want but Wembley is the place for finals. Semi-finals belong at Villa Park, Old Trafford and Hillsborough.

But the game has moved on and I can’t really blame the authorities for doing things differently these days.

I’m sure the players won’t have any negative thoughts when they walk out onto that pitch to face Stoke City next month. I played at the old Wembley for Wigan Athletic in the 1985 Freight Rover Trophy final and it was an occasion that will stay in my memory forever.

When you walk out onto that hallowed turf and look up to your family up in the stands, you have to be a hard man not to shed a few tears. I don’t mind admitting that I did.

I fancy some supporters will have mixed feelings because they’re going to have the thrill of seeing their team play at one of the world’s great sporting venues, but it’s also going to be a very expensive exercise. Knowing our fans as I do I know they’ll be pulling out all the stops to get there.

It’s going to be a great occasion and they have played their part magnificently to get us there – never more so than at St Andrews on Saturday.

They were absolutely brilliant – more than 4,000 of them cheering the team on from first whistle to last and playing a big part in the victory. How often have I spoken about the fans being our 12th man? Well they were on Saturday when it was 2-2 and the game could have gone either way.

Just study the reaction of Owen Coyle and the players at the end. They all turned to the supporters to express their gratitude, and rightly so.

I’M just as superstitious these days as I was when I was playing – and I was bad enough then.

I always made a point when I was at Bolton of being next to the last one out when we ran onto the field. McGinlay was always the last one, I was just in front and I always carried a ball on and kicked it up in the air.

Now I’m coaching I stick to the same routine, especially when things have gone right.

This season, for instance, before our regular Friday staff meetings I’ve been nipping round to the Tesco garage to buy chocolate bars for everyone, and the three girls in there – all big Wanderers fans – always make me a cup of tea.

So with things going so well at the moment I’ll be in there again on Friday having a good natter and a brew with the Golden Girls, Shirley, Symone and Lynn.