It means Heart’s 36-year-old shot-stopper is set to overtake former Adelaide City NSL great Sergio Melta on that honour roll.

The statistic – revealed by FFA statistician Andrew Howe – will put Bolton in fourth behind legends Alex Tobin, Paul Trimboli and Damian Mori.

Bolton, capped four times by the Socceroos, began his career in his native Queensland and won an NSL grand final with Brisbane Strikers in 1997.

He went on to enjoy a successful career in the NSL winning championships with Sydney Olympic and playing for a star-studded Parramatta Power.

Bolton- affectionately dubbed Bootsa - went on to the A-League and the foundation player lifted two championships with Sydney FC.

Whether or not Heart win a championship is a moot point. Sunday’s game against Phoenix in Morwell  - as part of the A-League regional round - is a must-win for the seventh placed red and whites and Phoenix in eighth.

Heart’s momentum was slowed by last week’s controversial loss to Central Coast Mariners but the improvement in the team is slowly taking shape, argued Bolton.

He pointed to confronting a fear factor within Heart’s playing group and a need to step out of the comfort zone.

And he used this as a parallel for his latest move as a media personality. After years of shying away from it, he’s embracing it – even if it’s not the easiest at times.

“Initially it’s a bit nerve wracking and you don’t want to come off looking like a goose,” he explained to au.fourfourtwo.com.

“It goes back to what I’ve said. In the past, I was a pretty shy guy and avoided the spotlight. But ever since I did the SBS U-17 World Cup, to be honest I got a bit of a bug for it.

“It’s never been my comfort zone. [But] I felt exhilarated being out of my comfort zone.

“And any chance I have now to do TV, I do radio, I write a column in the paper every home game now, and it’s totally out of my comfort zone.

“I’m actually really thriving on that at the moment. I’m really testing myself in an area I’ve never been comfortable in,” he said.

It's an outlook on life Bolton said he's taken on board in the last couple of years. His recent work with Fox Sports analysing other A-League matches on Hyundai Match Day Saturday has been well received.

“I’m more than willing to throw myself in the deep end [now]," he added. “Sometimes you sink, but hopefully you swim.

“As with most things the more you practice, the more you do it, you settle down, become more comfortable with it. You learn to open up a bit more, show a bit more personality.

“And just overall be yourself. I’ve learnt just to be myself.”