Sam Allardyce names the Bolton Wanderers star who left him in awe with his passing | OneFootball

There's one Bolton Wanderers star in particular who left Sam Allardyce in awe - and he's just paid homage to the iconic ex-Trotter

Bolton Wanderers supporters will forever reminisce, and dream of a return to the glory days in the Premier League under Sam Allardyce as they currently battle to get out of English football's third-tier.

The Trotters have fallen - and bounced back - a long way since their spinning spell in the Premier League, which saw a litany of global names make their way to the North West as part of one of the top-flight's most fondly-remembered sides of the last 20 years.

From Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff to Ivan Campo and Fernando Hierro, the Reebok Stadium was not short of superstar X-Factor during an era in which Bolton recorded multiple top-half finishes and embarked on a couple of runs in European competition for good measure.

These days, Bolton are competing for promotion from League One once more, having not played Championship football since the 2018/19 campaign, and although there will be confidence that the Trotters can finally return to the second-tier under Steven Schumacher - albeit through the play-offs, it would now appear - they're still a far way from the glory days that won the hearts of supporters all over the country.

Nonetheless, Allardyce has just paid homage to one of Bolton's most high-profile stars of the past - and it's somebody who left the ex-Newcastle United and West Ham boss in awe.

Sam Allardyce pays homage to ex-Bolton Wanderers star Fernando Hierro

The player in question is the aforementioned Hierro, who spent the final campaign of an illustrious career with Bolton in the 2004/05 season as Allardyce's side finished in 6th, securing European football for the first time.

It was an impressive season for Bolton as a whole and Hierro, having earned close to 100 caps for Spain while making more than 400 appearances across a glittering 14-year stay with Real Madrid, showed there was still gas left in the tank at the age of 36.

He remains richly remembered for his classy composure and passing range playing out from the back, which was much more of a rarity back then, and Hierro's brief, but lasting impact at Bolton is not lost on Allardyce to this day.

The former Los Blancos star celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday, which prompted a message of celebration and homage from Allardyce.

Writing via his official Instagram page, Allardyce said: "Happy birthday to Fernando Hierro - One of the best passers of the football that I worked with ⚽️👏"

When you consider the players that Allardyce coached throughout his career in the dugout, that's some compliment - even if it's one which is unlikely to leave too many Trotters surprised given the class that Hierro exuded.

Bolton Wanderers' ongoing promotion bid under Steven Schumacher

Fast-forward more than 20 years and, as aforementioned, Bolton find themselves in a considerably different position. They remain dreaming of a Premier League return, but need to get back to the Championship first and must capitalise in what's left of the current campaign after a number of failed promotion pushes.

The Trotters are currently positioned in 3rd place with seven games remaining, but perhaps passed up on an opportunity to overtake an out-of-form second-placed Cardiff City side by failing to win any of their last three fixtures heading into this month's international break.

Cardiff, despite taking just one victory from the last four, are still firm favourites to go up alongside runaway league leaders Lincoln City, as they currently hold an eleven-point advantage over Bolton.

Therefore, yet another play-off bid now surely looms, and Schumacher will be looking to finally get his side across the line and out of League One.