Entering the 1995–96 campaign, Bolton was a club of modest expectations simply trying to survive its first ever season in Premiership. At the time of Ćurčić's arrival, two months into the season, they were in the middle of a bad losing streak, firmly tied to the bottom of the table. His distinguished season-long form didn't help much. Bolton were easily relegated at the end, despite some results improvement following a mid-season managerial change (dropping of McFarland from the co-managerial team). Still, the season was a success for Ćurčić individually, scoring seven goals from 33 appearances in all competitions with assists, surging runs, technical ability, and selfless teamwork as the staples of his game. Following the 0–3 FA Cup third round win away at Bradford City on 6 January 1996 where Ćurčić scored two goals, opposing team's manager Chris Kamara called Ćurčić – "a Serbian George Best".