Bolton won 3-2 and have since come within five minutes of beating

Bolton won 3-2 and have since come within five minutes of beating Everton and seconds from drawing at Nottingham Forest."They want me to give a bit more strength to the back four and help start things They want me to have the ball all the time. If I am going to play well I need to have the ball all the time. They want me to mix up my game, to play a lot of short balls and long balls when I see them."Against Leicester in the Coca-Cola Cup on Tuesday night Stubbs certainly got plenty of the ball. He made a staggering 50 passes, only six of which failed to find their man or win a throw-in.

Most of the wayward passes were also the ambitious ones - keeping possession was not a problem for Stubbs, opening up a deep and organized Leicester defence was more difficult. It was the sort of game Barry Venison played for Newcastle and England last season, but Bolton did not have a Peter Beardsley.Even so, Stubbs' desire for the ball is unusual among defenders, as is his passing ability and control. No surprise, then, to discover he is a late convert to the black art of defence."I played in midfield when I first came to the club. As a kid I used to imagine I was Glenn Hoddle, he had such great touch, awareness and vision.

But I also admired Alan Hansen and, after about three years of playing in both positions with Bolton, I settled at centre-half. I think that is my best position."Stubbs, who was 24 this month, started on the left-wing as a boy, playing with the Kirkby under-11s as a nine-year-old. With that background, and his influences, it is easier to see why he has become an unusually adept defender. However, his youthful promise would not have been realised if he had not been fortunate in his managers, first Phil Neal, then Rioch, Todd and McFarland.Neal was Bolton's manager when Stubbs broke into the then-Third Division side in 1990 "He was the first manager to ask me to play centre-half. He always encouraged us to play football and that was a blessing. If we had had a manager who just wanted me to boot it, you would not see me doing the things I do now."Two years later Rioch took over and soon moved Stubbs into the back four for good (until now). "All the time he would say to me 'get the ball and start the attacks.

If there is space ahead of you - go into it, do not just pass it, take it into the space first'. Stubbs did this twice against Leicester - who left very little space anywhere. On one occasion he drew the defender before feeding John McGinlay, on the other he had a shot himself.Rioch's partner, Todd, was equally influential. "There was one occasion when he he pulled me aside and said: 'Never change your style of play You will go a long way if you keep playing the way you do'. That was a massive influence on me, he had such a reputation as a player.