EACH week we will be raiding our archives to find forgotten games, tales and interviews linked with Wanderers’ next opposition.

This week, we turn the clock back to 2001 as Sam Allardyce’s side welcomed fans to the Reebok for the first time since they gained promotion to the Premier League.

WANDERERS felt a little put out that the fantasy football they had produced at Filbert Street on the opening day against Leicester City had not been given the attention it deserved.

After wiping the floor with Peter Taylor’s men and scoring five unanswered goals, the Bolton Evening News declared: “We Are Top of the League!” on Monday’s front page splash.

Nevertheless, pundits refused to shift their view that Sam Allardyce’s side were “whipping boys” and would be quickly relegated, just as they had on their previous two visits to the top-flight.

"I don't think anybody has given us enough credit for how good we were against Leicester, but our stats can prove it,” complained Big Sam as he looked towards the midweek visit of Middlesbrough. “We had 20-22 shots on goal. But if we can take on that level of performance, we could get a lot of results, perhaps not against the big boys, but who knows ... we can make life very difficult for them."

The weather was distinctly un-August like as more than 20,000 supporters made their way to the Reebok to see if the Whites could build on their impressive opening day result against Leicester City.

Even though the conditions did their best to dampen the mood, there was a sense of occasion at the club’s return to the big time. A new Teamcard Scheme would see 15,500 season ticket holders pass through electronic turnstiles for the first time, and even Lofty the Lion had given himself a trendy new quiff for the occasion.

Wanderers lived up to their end of the bargain, and while they may not have racked up the same goal-count, proved every bit as effective and hard-working as they had a few days earlier.

Kevin Nolan had grabbed the headlines with his goals at Leicester and added to his growing reputation when he mugged Paul Ince to win the ball and combine with Bo Hansen to create Michael Ricketts’ winning goal in the 39th minute.

Boro, without the injured Alen Boksic and smarting from a 4-0 hammering against Arsenal at the Riverside, almost hit straight back through Brian Deane’s diving header but Gudni Bergsson was able to get back on the line to make a brilliant block.

The visitors had territorial advantage – although not as much as Steve McClaren would later insist – but Bolton were smart and decisive on the break, with Per Frandsen imperious in the middle of the park.

The Dane crafted a good chance for his countryman Hansen with 10 minutes to go, unfortunately his vision was not matched by the quality of the finish.

“We are top of the League!" chanted the fans, before coming back to reality the more sensible and achievable offering of "Bolton's staying up!"

Frandsen earned a recall to the Denmark squad off the back of his impressive return to the English top flight and was sensible enough to know that despite a 100 per cent start, there was still a lot of work to be done, not least the upcoming games against Leeds United and Liverpool.

"We're only two games in," he said. "Our aim is just to stay up and to surprise a few teams.

"If you'd said we'd be in this position before the season you wouldn't have believed it. But it's nice.

"We know we have a good side and it's difficult to play against us. We have shown that we are not as bad as everybody said we were and we have some good players too. Michael Ricketts, Kevin Nolan and Ricardo Gardner are three great young players who give us a good mix with the more experienced players."

Wanderers could march forward with confidence regardless of what the pundits thought.

Young goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen had been picked out as a potential weak link in Bolton’s armour by some writers. Typically, the Finn took it all in his stride.

"I don’t mind,” he said. “Every game is going to be like a cup final for us but we will be positive and fight for every game. I can't see any reason why we should not survive."

Things could not have gone better for Allardyce in the opening two games but his long chase for French defender Sylvain Distin was reaching a dead end.

The Paris St Germain man had stalled on signing a contract with Wanderers ahead of a £3.5million move and was reported to be speaking to Newcastle United.