The early 1990s were a golden age for Bolton Wanderers, a period which saw the club rise from the depths of English football to prominence in the Premier League.
There were many special nights back at Burnden Park in a time that supporters will look back on with great memories.
It was an era of folklore heroes, as virtuoso performances from the likes of John McGinlay, Owen Coyle, Andy Walker and Keith Branagan sent the Bolton faithful home with a smile on their faces on a regular basis.
Amongst all the headline grabbers, one man who proved to be Mr Consistent was David Lee, a model professional who made a name for himself as an outstanding right-winger in his time with the Trotters.
Notorious for his wing-wizardry, electric pace and an eye for a spectacular goal, Lee was devastating on his day causing problems for many left full-backs, as former Liverpool defender Mike Marsh can testify!
In total, Lee made 199 appearances in the famous Bolton shirt having joined the club from Southampton.
He had started his career at Bury, playing 249 games for the Shakers prior to moving to the South Coast for £350,000 in the summer of 1991.
But things didn't work out for Lee at the Dell and it was Bruce Rioch who brought him back to the North West originally on loan in November 1992 before the deal was made permanent at the cost of £300,000 shortly after.
Indeed, Rioch is a manager who he has the ultimate respect for, as Lee, who now works as the club's Assistant Academy Manager, exclusively told the official website in this special feature interview.
"From 1992 to 1997 when I was there, the club got promoted out of the Second Division and eventually got to the Premier League," revealed Lee.
"But before that we had some fantastic cup runs and I think it was down to the work ethic of the players and Bruce Rioch, who instilled the belief, discipline and attitude in to the players.
"For me personally, he was brilliant. He was a man manager, he knew how everybody ticked individually and he was good at bringing those individuals into a group environment.
"His coaching ethics were good and he had the attitude that if you worked hard then you would get your just rewards. We trained hard and when we came to the games he had given us the self belief and confidence to go out there.
"One thing that Bruce would do is bring the families into it too. On a lot of occasions we would be away on a Friday night and Bruce's wife would arrange for our wives and girlfriends to go out together for meals, so it was a whole family thing and everybody grasped that.
"You don't find that nowadays and it kept us all together - it was brilliant. I've got a lot of admiration for him and he will always be someone who I speak of in high regard."
Speaking to the Whitefield-born man, you quickly gain a feel of the significance that the team spirit and togetherness played in the success.
But when he lists the players on Bolton's books at that time, it's hard not to appreciate the calibre of the individual players, many of which went on to bigger and better things in the game.
Aside from the talent out on the pitch, Lee highlights in camaraderie within the dressing run as an underlying factor behind instrumental cup runs and legendary victories over Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool.
"I remember going on runs when we were 19 games unbeaten, or something like that, and we knew that every time we played we were going to perform well and by doing that the results usually took care of themselves.
"There were a lot of characters within the squad and the likes of Owen Coyle and John McGinlay were very jovial. Alan Stubbs and Jason McAteer had the scousers mentality and then there were the sensible members in the team as well.
"When we had a laugh and a joke we did it all together and when we had to be serious, we did that together too. We were never classed as individuals but always as a group.
"It obviously showed the potential we had within the team when Thompson, McAteer and Stubbs flourished at Bolton before obviously moving on to the likes of Celtic, Aston Villa, Everton and Liverpool.
"Then on the other side of the coin you have got Andy Walker, Owen Coyle and John McGinlay who scored goals for fun, Tony Kelly who could pass the ball in midfield and the experienced heads of Phil Brown, David Burke and Mark Seagraves at the back.
"There was Keith Branagan and Aidan Davidson in goal and then within all that we had a hell of a lot of experience with Peter Shilton, who brought some fantastic stories into the dressing room.
"When we played in cup finals and big games you needed the experience of the older players to get you through it, so we had a wealth of experience with a blend of youth in those memorable times."
One of the greatest seasons in Bolton's recent history is undoubtedly the 1994/95 campaign, in which the club battled through to two Wembley showpieces.
There was a disappointing end to the first trip to the twin towers where despite a spirited effort by the Trotters, Liverpool triumphed 2-1 in the League Cup final.
However, only weeks later and Bolton were back in the capital, this time lifting the Division One Play-Off final trophy and cementing their place in the Premier League for the first time.
Lee recalls those 12 months with great affection although he unfortunately missed the thrilling 4-3 victory over Reading with a foot injury.
He recalled: "Obviously I got injured in the Play-Off semi-final and missed the final, but that season was fantastic, especially earning promotion and getting through to the League Cup final against Liverpool, who were one of the best teams in Europe.
"I think if there had been another five minutes in that final then we might have pipped them, or at least got a draw and forced it in extra-time
"But the whole experience of being able to say you have won titles and promotion or played in major cup finals and having the medals to show for it, suggests that we had a fantastic work ethic and had some great times.
"The Play-Off final was very frustrating because I had broken the famous metatarsal and nobody had heard of it at that time. I broke three of them in the semi-final against Wolves and was forced to miss the final.
"The squad went away to Portugal for three or four days training and the manager asked me did I want to go with them, but because I was the dedicated professional I stayed at home and did some rehabilitation work. When they had the preparation, I went down with the squad, stayed in the hotel and we did everything together.
"It was a very nerve-wracking day because I was in the box with all the wives and players and to my left was Uri Gellar with his dark sunglasses, who had supposedly put a curse on us by saying that Reading were going to win.
"At 2-0 he had a big grin on his face, then we got back to 2-2 when Fabian DeFreitas came on and got his goals.
"His expressions had obviously changed when the full-time whistle was blown because it was delight on our part. The next thing, I was on the pitch celebrating and walking up the steps to get my medal.
"It was a bittersweet day but the final outcome was to get promotion and it was done over the 46 league games and I played a major part in those.
"If you come out of football winning things and achieving things then it shows you have had a successful time.
"We went into the Premier League and were probably a little bit inexperienced as the manager hadn't been able to get the squad that he wanted in order to fulfil the task of staying in the division.
"But it stood everybody in good stead and players were able to go on and play at the highest level and on the international stage. You had to be in it to experience it and at least we can look back on our careers and say that we played in the Premier League."
The 40-year-old winger left the Wanderers in July 1997 in a £250,000 move to Wigan after he was deemed surplus to requirements by Colin Todd.
Lee openly admits that he didn't want to leave the club at the time, but he is now glad to be back on Bolton's books working alongside a friend of many years, Jimmy Phillips.
"Colin Todd took over as the manager and his thoughts were to bring fresh new players in and as the cycle goes, once your face doesn't fit then you move on," Lee revealed.
"I was disappointed because I didn't really want to go and before I left, I remember Gordon Hargreaves coming up to me with a tear in his eye telling me that he didn't want me to go either.
"I then went on to have three years at Wigan and whilst I was there, and in my latter stages at Bolton, I went into the coaching side.
"Bruce Rioch had forced me into it when I first signed for the club and I'll always remember sitting in the dressing room chatting with the players and he asked me if I'd done my coaching badges.
"I said 'no' and he simply said 'do them', as though it was an order! So I did and that really kick-started me into doing them when I was about 25 years of age.
"I was going down to the Centre of Excellence in the evenings at Harper Green, where the likes of Nicky Hunt and Kevin Nolan were playing for the U13s and U14s.
"I did my groundwork there and progressed through so by the time I had finished my playing career at Wigan I was a UEFA 'A' coach badge holder who was fully qualified.
"I was fortunate that when I finished at Wigan, I got the youth team job and developed ever since then.
"I love being back here at Bolton now and it's great to see how far the club has progressed so much since I left as a player and it is now an established Premier League club.
"I wouldn't like to rewind the clock and start at this level because I have had my career and have really enjoyed it and I now have embarked on a new path.
"Me and Jimmy (Phillips) get on really well. We used to as players because we are the same type of people who are on the same wavelength and we both know what we want the club to achieve.
"Jimmy's obviously the head of the department and I'm working for him, but we all as staff are aiming to get to the highest standard we can."
