Former Super Eagles captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, has admitted he wouldn’t have joined Bolton Wanderers if he had done his research.
Okocha shocked fans and pundit when he left the Ligue 1 side for struggling Wanderers in 2002.
He has now revealed he did not know Bolton’s status in the Premier League before signing, and it took him a lot of time before he settled in.
“Well, I’ll say that it’s obvious I didn’t do my research before signing for Bolton,” Okocha told Ally McCoist and Gabriel Agbonlahor on their Talksport breakfast show.
“But as a football person, you know football comes first, not the city, not the lifestyle that comes with the City.”
“But one thing was clear, the training ground was different. The attitude towards the games were different.
“And I think also the mentality, you know the football style was difficult.”
“It took me a while to really understand what Sam’s philosophy was,” Okocha added.
Okocha made 144 appearances for Bolton, scoring 18 goals and registering three assists before leaving for Qatar in 2006.
