AN exotically-named ex-York City sentinel is literally rubbing shoulders at one of the Premiership's biggest foreign legions.

To Bolton Wanderers' international brigade of Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo, Bruno N'Gotty, Fernando Hierro, Khalilou Fadiga and El Hadji Diouf can be added Mark Sertori.

The one-time Minsterman stopper is now an integral part of the backroom staff at the Reebok Stadium, where he works as masseur and reflexologist. That puts him in the closest of contact with the stars of the Premiership outfit currently pushing for a European place in the top-flight and through to the FA Cup quarter-finals against Arsenal.

It's a surprising twist in career for the burly defensive enforcer as well as being a far cry from Sertori's playing days, which he readily admits comprised 18 years trawling around the lower leagues including his Bootham Crescent tenure from 1999-2001.

Arriving at City in a £25,000 deal from Halifax Town that also recruited Kevin Hulme, Sertori was a regular during his 17 months at City, where he featured in 73 league and cup appearances, netting two goals.

City were his eighth League club, the centre-back going on to Shrewsbury and Cheltenham. He then dropped out of the Football League to join Altrincham, Accrington Stanley and Hyde before swapping dressing-room for classroom.

Sertori enrolled on a Professional Footballers' Association-funded course at Cardiff, where he graduated as a masseur as well as qualifying in reflexology and aromatherapy.

Mark Taylor, the head of Bolton's medical staff, was a former Scunthorpe team-mate of Sertori, and after an intensive interview he was on the Trotters' staff.

Said Sertori, who has been working at the Reebok for just over two years now: "It's a cracking set-up. After all those seasons playing at the bottom end of the English game, it's great to be involved with a Premiership club, especially one that is doing so well.

"You just never know in this game. You've got to make the most of what life throws at you and I'm thoroughly enjoying it at Bolton working with top players and under one of the best Premier League managers."

That manager, to whom Sertori was referring, is Sam Allardyce, who has transformed the Trotters into one of the Premiership's established clubs since guiding them back into the elite in 2001.

Allardyce is among a breed of English managers such as York-born Steve McClaren, now heading Middlesbrough, and Charlton's Alan Curbishley, who have broken the mould of foreign bosses dominating the domestic game.

Sertori said it's a reputation well deserved. "A lot of people just think of him as 'big Sam', but he is far more than that," ventured Sertori.

"He is a very open manager, very professional and extremely shrewd. He is always receptive to old and new ideas."

While he numbers ten League clubs in his playing career Sertori looks back on fondness at his time as a Minsterman, adding he was gutted to discover they had lost their Football League status.

"It's going to be really tough to get back because there are a lot of good teams in the Conference," said Sertori.

"I played in virtually every game while I was at York. It was a belting club, a good family-type club. I'm hoping that they can get back to where they belong in the League fairly soon."

Updated: 09:45 Thursday, March 03, 2005