Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has signed a new five-year contract.

Allardyce has led Bolton to fourth place in the Premiership after an excellent start.

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside said: “Sam won’t be going anywhere. He’s got a job he started five years ago and we always said it was a 10-year job.

“He said to me five years ago he wanted to retire from Bolton after 10 years – when he was 55.”

Gartside added: “I am sure he won’t but we are well on the way to reaching that 55.

“Then it is up to him to do what he wants in football, really.”

Allardyce, a former player at Bolton, arrived from Notts County in 1999 and although the club were relegated they bounced back and continued to progress.

Gartside said: “He is Bolton through and through. His family have grown up in the town.

“He still lives in the same house when he first moved here. He is very happy.

“Bolton is close to his heart. It is his club really.

“We are not stopping where we are, we are more ambitious than that. We want to carry on this success. A sustained run in the Premier League is what we really want. That is the only place to play in the United Kingdom.

“You start off the season hoping to be there the following season. We have 15 points after nine games so we have got a chance.

“People might say we punch above our weight but I don’t know if that is true.

“We are competing with a group of teams that goes from about eighth or ninth down in financial strength.

“If you get to the top of that group you can sneak a European place. That’s our ambition now.

“Who knows what could happen if we sustain our current form, top six maybe.”