IT’S 50O-UP FOR PORT’S PREMIER
Boss Watson may only be 49 but already...
PROUD Liam Watson real- ised something after tak- ing charge of his 500th game in charge of Southport – he’s getting old!
The former Runcorn, Burscough, AFC Telford and Stalybridge Celtic boss has been in management since the age of 29 and is now in his third spell with the Sandgrounders having returned last year.
“I was actually told it was 981 games in total on Saturday which makes me feel old!” Watson, who turns 49 tomorrow and has won three Conference North titles, told The NLP.
“I had eight full seasons away: three at Runcorn, two at Burscough, 18 months at Telford and 18 at Stalybridge. I’ve been in it a long time.”
Watson celebrated the landmark last weekend with a 1-0 win over National League North promotion rivals Brackley Town at Haig Avenue where he first arrived in 2003 aged 33, becoming the club’s youngest ever manager, after enjoying success at Runcorn.
“I think the scary thing was that they were that bad,” he said, undeterred by the task he faced at the time. “It was an atrocious team in absolute freefall.
Champions
“I was the Runcorn manager and a few weeks earlier we’d gone to Southport and beat them 3-0. We had eight players that had come from Southport’s reserves and only one of them had ever been in the first team. That was probably why I got the job in the first place.
“That season you had to finish in the top ten or something to qualify for the Conference North and I was looking at it thinking we’re not going to have enough.
“Chris Price was my first signing at Runcorn and was my captain; he came with me to Southport straight away. It must have been hard to go into that toxic environment in the dressing room but he did it and gradually things began to change. We ended up having a good end to the season in 2004 and we made some really good signings.
“18 months later we won the Conference North. In 04-05 we were by far the best team. The players knew it and I knew it. It was a brilliant season; I don’t think we were ever out of the top three.
“To qualify for the Conference North and then win it was great.”
The following season Watson kept the club in the top-flight despite still being part-time although he was axed in the summer after the decision was made to go full-time.
He was unable to commit to the change due to his work outside of football, but the club’s budget was insufficient to sign the best full-time players and they were relegated. Watson dropped down to Burscough in the Northern Premier League and won the treble in his first season before returning to Southport in 2008 and had more success after losing in the play-off semi-finals to Gateshead.
“The 04-05 year was a better team but 09-10 was physically strong,” he added. “There is still a Whatsapp group and some of them were at the game on Saturday which was nice. I had to pick an all-time Southport XI and some weren’t in so I’ve been getting a few messages!
“My teams over the years have generally never been great starters but finish strong so hopefully that’s the case this season.”