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By his own admission, Mike Whitlow is a lucky man.
A defender who helped Leeds United to the First Division title, Leicester City to the League Cup and Big Sam’s Wanderers into the Premier League still pinches himself a decade after hanging up his boots.
At the Reebok, as then was, he was Wanderers’ Mr Reliable but by no means one of the household names in the squad trying to establish itself in the top flight against the odds at the turn of the millennium.
“When you look down that team,” Whitlow laughed. “Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo and then me! Sometimes I think ‘how the heck did I get in that team? What a lucky so-and-so.’
“Experiencing all the hardship trying to get back into the Premier League but then being able to play at places like Old Trafford and getting results, it was a dream, really. I consider myself really, really fortunate to have been a part of it.”
Whitlow spent six years with Bolton, playing 163 times, but will have a special reason for keeping an eye out for the result tomorrow.
After moving into coaching with Notts County he then got a job with up-and-coming Burton Albion as head of their academy in 2010.
At that stage the Brewers were only newly-promoted to the Football League but under three different managers made a remarkable rise up the pyramid.
“It was unbelievable really,” agreed Whitlow, now at Mansfield Town. “It’s credit to the chairman, Ben Robinson, who runs the club terrifically well.
“I worked with three managers – Gary Rowett, Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink and Nigel Clough – who all knew what they were doing. It was a good time in my career.
“Some of the lads I had are still there: Matt Palmer, Joe Sbarra, Ben Fox. They are doing things right.”
Whitlow managed to be a lucky charm for Wanderers on his last visit, which coincided with the Whites’ first league win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday.
Watching his former club has not always been easy in recent years as the memories of Premier League glory fade but the former defender – released by Bolton as a schoolboy before bouncing back in non-league with Witton Albion – is in no doubt what will restore their fortunes.
“Football is no different to any walk of life, you get what you put in,” he said. “It has been tough for Bolton this season but I see Phil Parkinson has got things moving the way he wants now, which is good to see.
“Only hard work will get them back to where they want to be. I tell the young lads at Mansfield that all the superstars in that dressing room at Bolton were there because they put the work in.
“A lot of it was down to the big fella (Allardyce) because he’d assembled a team of very different people, who all had a common work ethic.
“Someone like Ricardo Gardner was such a gifted footballer, wonderful to watch, but what people didn’t see was the hours and hours he put into his game on the training ground, coming back from big injuries and pushing through all that pain.
“Youri Djorkaeff was a World Cup winner. He had nothing to prove at Bolton. But he wanted to play football and be the very best he could be. It’s something in-built.
“If you have the right attitude you can get where you want to be. That might be top of the league, it might be staying out of trouble. But without the hard work you won’t get anywhere.”
Whitlow is now working with Steve Evans at Field Mill looking to push younger players into the first team reckoning as the Stags chase a place in League One.
“I have enjoyed it here,” he said. “I’ve been here two years now and the lads have been a credit to the club.
“Football isn’t an easy game. To be a professional and get that opportunity you have to chase it. And it’s good to see there are lads here who want to do that.
“When I got released by Bolton as a young lad I went back and played non-league, picked my way back through.
“To break through at a professional club these days requires a lot of hard work but to stay there and play at the highest level you need a work ethic like you wouldn’t believe. It doesn’t just happen and you saw that in Big Sam’s dressing room.”
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A defender who helped Leeds United to the First Division title, Leicester City to the League Cup and Big Sam’s Wanderers into the Premier League still pinches himself a decade after hanging up his boots.
At the Reebok, as then was, he was Wanderers’ Mr Reliable but by no means one of the household names in the squad trying to establish itself in the top flight against the odds at the turn of the millennium.
“When you look down that team,” Whitlow laughed. “Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo and then me! Sometimes I think ‘how the heck did I get in that team? What a lucky so-and-so.’
“Experiencing all the hardship trying to get back into the Premier League but then being able to play at places like Old Trafford and getting results, it was a dream, really. I consider myself really, really fortunate to have been a part of it.”
Whitlow spent six years with Bolton, playing 163 times, but will have a special reason for keeping an eye out for the result tomorrow.
After moving into coaching with Notts County he then got a job with up-and-coming Burton Albion as head of their academy in 2010.
At that stage the Brewers were only newly-promoted to the Football League but under three different managers made a remarkable rise up the pyramid.
“It was unbelievable really,” agreed Whitlow, now at Mansfield Town. “It’s credit to the chairman, Ben Robinson, who runs the club terrifically well.
“I worked with three managers – Gary Rowett, Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink and Nigel Clough – who all knew what they were doing. It was a good time in my career.
“Some of the lads I had are still there: Matt Palmer, Joe Sbarra, Ben Fox. They are doing things right.”
Whitlow managed to be a lucky charm for Wanderers on his last visit, which coincided with the Whites’ first league win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday.
Watching his former club has not always been easy in recent years as the memories of Premier League glory fade but the former defender – released by Bolton as a schoolboy before bouncing back in non-league with Witton Albion – is in no doubt what will restore their fortunes.
“Football is no different to any walk of life, you get what you put in,” he said. “It has been tough for Bolton this season but I see Phil Parkinson has got things moving the way he wants now, which is good to see.
“Only hard work will get them back to where they want to be. I tell the young lads at Mansfield that all the superstars in that dressing room at Bolton were there because they put the work in.
“A lot of it was down to the big fella (Allardyce) because he’d assembled a team of very different people, who all had a common work ethic.
“Someone like Ricardo Gardner was such a gifted footballer, wonderful to watch, but what people didn’t see was the hours and hours he put into his game on the training ground, coming back from big injuries and pushing through all that pain.
“Youri Djorkaeff was a World Cup winner. He had nothing to prove at Bolton. But he wanted to play football and be the very best he could be. It’s something in-built.
“If you have the right attitude you can get where you want to be. That might be top of the league, it might be staying out of trouble. But without the hard work you won’t get anywhere.”
Whitlow is now working with Steve Evans at Field Mill looking to push younger players into the first team reckoning as the Stags chase a place in League One.
“I have enjoyed it here,” he said. “I’ve been here two years now and the lads have been a credit to the club.
“Football isn’t an easy game. To be a professional and get that opportunity you have to chase it. And it’s good to see there are lads here who want to do that.
“When I got released by Bolton as a young lad I went back and played non-league, picked my way back through.
“To break through at a professional club these days requires a lot of hard work but to stay there and play at the highest level you need a work ethic like you wouldn’t believe. It doesn’t just happen and you saw that in Big Sam’s dressing room.”
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