They might be the minnows in the shark-infested waters of the Champions League, but Aalborg AK have a manager who knows how to make a little go a long way. In the nineties, Bruce Rioch's loaves-and-fishes approach to management hauled Bolton Wanderers up to the Premiership and also strung together some memorable cup runs. As well as having a Scottish manager at the helm, the team that Bruce built also possessed an impressive Scottish spine.

Rioch's cross-border raids saw John McGinlay, Andy Walker and Owen Coyle provide the firepower for his revolution. Coyle spent just over two seasons at Bolton after signing from Airdrie for £250,000 in the summer of 1993 and played a key role in the Rioch revival. He recalls a team brought together for minimal outlay but who would go on to achieve great things.

"It was a good team full of quality players and it was Bruce who assembled the squad," reflects Coyle, now manager of Burnley in the Coca-Cola Championship.

"He also brought through a few young players, like Jason McAteer and Alan Stubbs. Those two and Alan Thompson, who he brought in for £250,000, were later sold on for millions each. There were players like John McGinlay, myself and Phil Brown, now the Hull manager, who was the captain and right back. It was a great mix of youth and experience."

Coyle remembers the now Aalborg manager as a firm advocate of free-flowing, attacking football and believes the Danes will take the game to Celtic tomorrow night.

"That Bolton side were very much a football team and passed the ball around, as well as having a real cutting edge," recalls Coyle. "Bruce's football knowledge was second to none. He was strict, very disciplined. Although he had a code of conduct, he allowed players to go out and express themselves and encouraged us to be positive and entertaining. He was always very proud of the fact that he was Scotland captain and he will take great pleasure in returning to play Celtic and having a go."

Rioch was in charge at Burnden Park from 1992 and 1995. In his first season, he achieved promotion to League One and then, in his final campaign, took them into the Premierleague after beating Reading 4-3 in the play-offs, a match in which Coyle scored.

They also made a name for themselves in the FA Cup, beating Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in January 1993 through goals from McGinlay and Walker, before losing to Derby. The next season they beat Everton, Arsenal and Aston Villa before losing to Oldham. Rioch's achievements earned him a move to Arsenal in the summer of 1995.

"In each and every game on those cup runs we played to win," adds Coyle. "Even in the terrific cup run against top-quality sides, we didn't play for a draw. He did a fantastic job at Bolton. He has done very well in Denmark and getting into the group stages has been a great achievement for a team of their size."