When Liverpool dominated the domestic game in the 1970s, Anfield was famed for its 'Boot Room' brains trust. Wiley old pros spent afternoons putting their heads together to work out how to out-fox the opposition. But the game has moved on.

The old pro might still be the king of the TV pundits but here at the Reebok a far more scientific approach has been pioneered into checking out performance levels and tactics.

Brian Prestidge heads the three-man Performance Analysis team which is the epitome of just how far Bolton Wanderers has embraced the science approach.

You can just hear the old Anfield wise guys scoffing at the very notion of a 26-year-old who hasn't played the game at professional level passing on video tips to players on how to shackle the big centre forward via their mobile phones!

'It'll never catch on sonny!'

To be fair the technology didn't exist until recently. But it does now and here at the Reebok the business is all geared to earning precious Premier League points and they are prepared to invest in any means to make that happen if it can give their players a slight advantage over the pack.

So Brian and his fellow backroom boffin Lee Sargeson look at every sprint, kick, header, pass and tackle in the hope of giving Wanderers the edge. They're our laptop hotshots, expertly honing down an Everest of information into useful bite-size chunks of knowledge for the players, scouts and coaches alike.

Their work breaks down into pre-match analysis of future opponents, post match reviews of what went wrong and what went right and matchday assistance for the coaching staff and manager. Their word is trusted. They don't simply watch a game, they analyse it. See every piece of meaningful action and 'tag' it (use a sophisticated piece of software to file a particular clip of action). The working week starts almost as soon as the final whistle blows on a Saturday evening. Brian and Lee set to work on the Sunday on the pre-match build-up.

"Whoever we are playing we look at video evidence from their most recent games — this gives us the information on who is playing where and what style they are playing in. We see if someone regularly passes to a particular team-mate or hits a long pass," says Plymouth-born Brian, who studied sports analysis and coaching at undergraduate level before taking his masters in Cardiff.

As well as working up a detailed video dossier for the manager, each individual member of the Wanderers squad is also given a short DVD about any rival players they will come up against in a potential head to head.

"The team DVDs vary and depend on our game plan, the opposition's strengths and weaknesses and any particular points the coaching department wish to highlight. We try not to make them too long. It's about picking out key points."

On matchdays Brian's team work in the heart of the Reebok from a small office bristling with enough software and surveillance equipment to make James Bond green with envy. They take the live video feed from whoever is screening the game, Sky, ESPN or whoever, and use the latest software programmes to methodically examine the game. They have to be on the ball.

At the interval they can project highlights through to a whiteboard in the dressing room to help the manager and coaches highlight a particular point. Key talking points and statistical info can also be displayed.

"There's a sound link too so that the manager or coach can ask for clips to be paused, replayed. It's one thing him making a point to a player but we've found that visualisation can help get a particular point across."

And that's the key here. All this work, all this effort has a clear focus on helping the manager, his coaches, his scouts and ultimately the players perform better. There's an element of psychology too. "Every analysis will start looking at the negatives but end on a positive note. Positive reinforcement."

The team also use 'Flash' animation software to show the coaching team certain set play information, game plan scenarios, where a team is putting a particular tactic into play and who is where at set plays. Then there's Pro Zone which offers a further wealth of statistical data. Passing success rate, intensity of work, you name it. Forget Big Brother, this is Big Brian!

For example, did you know that the average player runs between 11 and 13 kilometres in a match?

But Brian's team look beyond the bare stats — "You look to see what type and quantity of runs a player makes and tailor the training accordingly. For example, one player may make 50 10-metre sprints during a game. You can feed that info to a trainer."

Before a game each individual player is given his own role and responsibility and before the season begins each player is given targets to hit, in terms of work-rate and pass completion.

Explains Brian: "No-one is saying that if you do everything we highlight you will never lose a game — it's not like that. But what we are saying is if you do what we ask you have a chance of maximising the team's chances of success. That's what happened in the seasons we qualified for Europe."

During post match work the team review key areas that were worked on ahead of the game and see what happened in reality. Individual errors are also looked at. These tend to be more 'technical' errors like positioning. They also look at how key units like the midfield five or back four worked together.

From time to time during the season the Performance Analysis team also produce motivational videos for the side — they put together nine in total last season.

"It's a relatively new science — in football terms at least. Other sports, like for example the Australian swimming team, have been using it to good effect for years. Bolton and Everton were pioneers in the Premier League but more and more clubs have started to appreciate the benefits in the last few seasons.

"When I qualified I wanted to come to Bolton because they are acknowledged leaders in the field. The club has developed a good reputation for its performance analysis department but I can't afford to let us rest on that reputation so we are constantly looking to give more and more and hone things. We are continually looking at new technology to help us. One of the things we are currently weighing up is a new delivery system that will send video clips direct to a player's phone. Players react to the information in different ways and for some individuals this might be the perfect way to present the information."

Which takes us to the biggest sceptics in the process, the players themselves. Initially it took time for them to accept the scientists.

"Naturally, it takes time to win their trust when you introduce anything new. But what we have managed to do is let them see the benefits of the technology. If we help them improve their performance levels then we find they are more receptive.

"I think these days we are an accepted part of the process. The centre backs are always keen on information about strikers, some players are eager to know about their individual stats. Other players won't be too bothered finding out more about an opposition player they have played against several times and that's natural but they will be interested if that opponent has perhaps had the better of their past encounters."

So how does Brian relax? Yes you've guessed it — a steady diet of live football on TV and video games.

"The thing is that now when I watch a game I start looking at how different players are playing or if it's a foreign game making mental notes on individuals so we can do some work to pass on to the scouting team."

Indeed working hand in hand with the scouts is another aspect of the Performance Analysis unit's daily routine.

"There are a lot of good players out there but there are also a heck of a lot of not so good ones. We can help look at how certain players may fit into the club and the Premier League and pass that info on to the scouts. It's a case of trying to minimize the mistakes."

So, given his wealth of knowledge, is Brian a star when it comes to actually playing.

"Erm no not really…but I know where I am going wrong!"