Nolan's England Hope

Last updated : 26 September 2005 By Matt Bottom

Bolton midfielder Kevin Nolan has spoken of his ambition to break into the full England squad in the future but knows it will depend on consistent quality performances.
 
"I'm only 23, and hopefully I will get a couple of caps under my belt. Maybe I might be able to break into the squad one day.

"But I'm just happy with the way things are going with Bolton. To be playing regularly is fantastic and hopefully I can keep doing the business here."

He continued: "England have a fantastic midfield, one of the best in the world, and there are a few good lads backing them up. Maybe in four or five years' time when they are all retired I might get a sniff!"

The strike against Pompey was Nolan's 30th goal of a career that has now seen him make 208 appearances over a six-year period for Wanderers, a strike rate of one goal every seven matches.

Nolan also spoke about the 'Wimbledon' tag that Bolton have aquired:
 
"We are the new Wimbledon - and we like the fact people don't want to give us the praise because we want to ram their words back down their throats."

He continued: "In the last couple of years we have done really well finishing eighth and sixth - and we want to aim better and higher this year.

"We've started well but we have only played seven games. There's a long way to go but we hope we can keep the form we're in at the moment and keep getting clean sheets.

"That's four clean sheets out of seven now and a great goal by myself - but I'm disappointed I didn't get a second."