THE boy who punched the air with delight when Frank Worthington scored his famous goal against Ipswich Town will have the same emotions coursing through his body when he leads Bolton Wanderers out against Huddersfield Town this weekend.

Lifelong fan Julian Darby has been through it all with his beloved club as ball boy, trainee, professional and coach but Saturday will represent a major milestone as he steps out as part of an interim management team at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Picking the side and making the tactical decisions will remain a join effort with Andy Taylor and Andy Tutte, who both stepped up from the B Team after Ian Evatt and his backroom staff parted ways with the club this week.

But for a Farnworth lad steeped in Wanderers tradition, simply being asked to prepare a team for the big occasion will be a proud day indeed.

“Yeah, I'll have to take a few deep breaths, I think,” Darby told The Bolton News, pausing to consider how much the club’s call meant this week.

“All I can hope is that the players express themselves. That's what I'm hoping for.

“I want them to do themselves justice. There are some good players out there, really good players, and with a bit of fortune and confidence, rub of the green, you never know what might happen on Saturday.”

It is 40 years since Darby turned up at Burnden Park as an apprentice under John McGovern, and since then he has seen plenty of managers come and go.

“There was John, Charlie Wright, Phil Neal, Bruce (Rioch),” Darby recounted. “I came back as a coach, more than once. When I was out of a job I always came back, I just love being around football and being around Bolton Wanderers.

“Bolton is my team, Bolton is my club. And I enjoy being around the atmosphere and in the dressing room. You miss the dressing room when you're not in a game.

“I’d always be welcomed back and Jimmy Phillips let me help out with the academy in any way I could, so it was just something I did. And when he took caretaker charge a couple of times, when Coyley (Owen Coyle) left and then Dougie Freedman, me and Sammy Lee helped him for a few games.

“I had some time when the club was really struggling and I came in, the Junior Whites and all that, and we had a few games helping Phil Parkinson, and my last time on the first team touchline was with Keith Hill up to Covid.

“I’ve done it before, I coach, and I always have done, but this is a bit different. I'm the figurehead, so I'm the one who's speaking to the media and the press. So I haven't really had that before.”

Darby was having a coffee in the Market Place when he got a call from Chris Markham on Wednesday morning to tell him he was being drafted up from his role as Under-18s coach.

And though there is a note of sadness about Evatt’s departure across the whole football department after more than four years, the opportunity lead his club is one Darby intends to enjoy.

“It's a proud moment for myself and my family, really, because we're all lifelong Bolton fans. And, you know, just to lead the team. Listen, when I was a player, I was captain for two or three games when Phil Brown was injured, so that was another proud moment, to lead the team out.

“But now this a different kettle of fish. I'm with the other side of it, and decisions are ultimately made by me on Saturday.”