Liam who? That was the reaction when Watson was appointed as the club’s youngest manager in history, the 19th manager to be appointed since their 1978 exit from the Football League.

Born 21 May 1970 in Liverpool. Watson played for Maghull, Burscough, Warrington Town, Preston North End, Marine, Witton Albion, Runcorn and Accrington Stanley. Watson was the man Southport turned to in their hour of need in October 2003 – six months after they were relegated from the Conference. In 2001, Port had finished fourth in the Conference under Mark Wright but that momentum had been lost following Wright’s move to Oxford and Watson inherited a team struggling in the Unibond League. Watson, was not steeped in managerial experience but had been given a tough grounding at Runcorn and his ambition and stomach for the scrap sparked a transformation. As a player he always had to fight to prove himself. He went from Sunday League, to the North-West Counties, to the UniBond League and to the Football League. He won England (semi-professional) caps and that was a good grounding. On his appointment as boss at Southport Watson said “Southport is the type of club where once you raise expectations you have to match them, and I understand that and will be working very hard to try and achieve that.”

Watson, whose League football came at Preston North End, totally re-built Southport’s squad and in his first full season in charge guided the club to the Conference North title in great style. Considering the struggle the club had in the Conference in 2005/06 Watson’s support from the terraces was remarkable and he was heard to say more than once that it was that support that kept him in a job. The joy that he displayed along with the travelling faithful at Grays when Conference survival was assured against all the odds was a real show of togetherness. Not renowned for their patience the Southport fans took to Watson like no other manager and it was a major shock when he left, some hardened supporters described it as feeling as though a death in the family had occurred.

The rollercoaster nature of life at Haig Avenue was perhaps best illustrated by a frantic seven-day period in July 2008. When boss Gary Brabin fled to Cambridge United, talk of crisis ensued, but little did supporters know it would bring about the return of Liam Watson, one of the club’s most popular ever managers.