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It took Zach Clough just 10 seconds to decide he would turn down a mega-money move to Bristol City and fight for survival with Wanderers.
The pint-sized striker, who has been with the Whites since the age of eight, was under pressure to help his club out of the financial mire when the Robins came calling in January.
A £2million bid, which would have risen to £3m on appearances, was accepted but after a swift phone call to his dad Paul, the 20-year-old says a switch to Ashton Gate was never on the cards.
“When the bid was put in, I found out about 10pm the night before we played Eastleigh,” he told The Bolton News.
“I phoned my dad and he started laughing. He said ‘no chance’. And that was it.
“I wanted to show respect to Bristol City and it was great that they wanted me.
“But we made the decision 10 seconds after the offer went in. I wouldn’t have changed my mind.
“My dad has been a big influence on my career all the way back to being eight years old and picking Bolton instead of Manchester United.”
Clough has no regrets about declining the move to Bristol, even though they have now climbed clear of the relegation zone.
Manager Steve Cotterill was sacked just two days later and replaced by Lee Johnson but the youngster, who was out with a hip injury at the time, feels he made the right choice.
“It was tough mentally,” he said. “It was actually quite good to have an injury because had I been playing football it might have affected me a bit.
“But I am a Bolton player. I love this club.
“We went down there, they are trying to improve, their new stadium looks quite good. But I just didn’t think it was right for me at this stage of my career. It was a sideways move.
“I think that Bolton is a bigger club than Bristol at the end of the day.”
Clough scored his fourth goal of the season against QPR and rates it the finest of his career so far but a first-half scissor-kick would have eclipsed it, had it not dropped the wrong side of the post.
“That would have been a better goal,” he said. “It wasn’t far away.
“I was thinking about Rooney against Manchester City. I hate that goal because I’m a City fan.
“I didn’t catch it quite as sweetly as he did.”
After all the speculation over his future, safety is now the only thing on Clough’s mind – and helping Wanderers to stay in the division would be an achievement he would cherish.
“I think I’ve been here for 13 years, it would be like getting promoted to the Premier League,” he said.
“It would be the best thing I have ever done, probably ever do in my career.
“I get goosebumps thinking about it. And I think it is possible, we have 14 games.”
With all the pressures off the field, including a High Court date this morning, Clough and the rest of the dressing room are trying hard to turn their attention immediately towards Birmingham City.
“We try and concentrate on getting results, training, things we can affect.
“We see stuff Marc has written about Dean Holdsworth looking to buy the club and we hope that will go through. I’d like to think it could happen on Monday.
“We don’t know or get told anything. We just try and get on with the job.
“We’re better than the teams around us but we are not getting the results we should. We need to turn that around and I’m confident we can.
“We need to put wins together. We’ve got Birmingham away then Burnley at home – that’s a tough one because they are going for promotion. But I think we can take something from both games.”
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The pint-sized striker, who has been with the Whites since the age of eight, was under pressure to help his club out of the financial mire when the Robins came calling in January.
A £2million bid, which would have risen to £3m on appearances, was accepted but after a swift phone call to his dad Paul, the 20-year-old says a switch to Ashton Gate was never on the cards.
“When the bid was put in, I found out about 10pm the night before we played Eastleigh,” he told The Bolton News.
“I phoned my dad and he started laughing. He said ‘no chance’. And that was it.
“I wanted to show respect to Bristol City and it was great that they wanted me.
“But we made the decision 10 seconds after the offer went in. I wouldn’t have changed my mind.
“My dad has been a big influence on my career all the way back to being eight years old and picking Bolton instead of Manchester United.”
Clough has no regrets about declining the move to Bristol, even though they have now climbed clear of the relegation zone.
Manager Steve Cotterill was sacked just two days later and replaced by Lee Johnson but the youngster, who was out with a hip injury at the time, feels he made the right choice.
“It was tough mentally,” he said. “It was actually quite good to have an injury because had I been playing football it might have affected me a bit.
“But I am a Bolton player. I love this club.
“We went down there, they are trying to improve, their new stadium looks quite good. But I just didn’t think it was right for me at this stage of my career. It was a sideways move.
“I think that Bolton is a bigger club than Bristol at the end of the day.”
Clough scored his fourth goal of the season against QPR and rates it the finest of his career so far but a first-half scissor-kick would have eclipsed it, had it not dropped the wrong side of the post.
“That would have been a better goal,” he said. “It wasn’t far away.
“I was thinking about Rooney against Manchester City. I hate that goal because I’m a City fan.
“I didn’t catch it quite as sweetly as he did.”
After all the speculation over his future, safety is now the only thing on Clough’s mind – and helping Wanderers to stay in the division would be an achievement he would cherish.
“I think I’ve been here for 13 years, it would be like getting promoted to the Premier League,” he said.
“It would be the best thing I have ever done, probably ever do in my career.
“I get goosebumps thinking about it. And I think it is possible, we have 14 games.”
With all the pressures off the field, including a High Court date this morning, Clough and the rest of the dressing room are trying hard to turn their attention immediately towards Birmingham City.
“We try and concentrate on getting results, training, things we can affect.
“We see stuff Marc has written about Dean Holdsworth looking to buy the club and we hope that will go through. I’d like to think it could happen on Monday.
“We don’t know or get told anything. We just try and get on with the job.
“We’re better than the teams around us but we are not getting the results we should. We need to turn that around and I’m confident we can.
“We need to put wins together. We’ve got Birmingham away then Burnley at home – that’s a tough one because they are going for promotion. But I think we can take something from both games.”
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