Lewis’s career in safe hands as Saints keep tabs from a distance

HARRY LEWIS is a 19-year-old living a long way from home but he can forget about sampling the feeling of freedom. Parent club Southampton’s goalkeeping guru Dave Watson sees to that and Lewis could not be happier

The Dundee United No 1, on loan from the south coast side, enjoys the level of scrutiny Watson places on his displays in the Ladbrokes Championship.

His initial fears that he’d be to some extent ignored training in St Andrews and playing in Scotland’s second tier in Dundee were entirely wide of the mark.

Watson, who had a huge hand in helping Joe Hart and Fraser Forster ascend to England cap level, brought Lewis (below) to Southampton from Shrewsbury two years ago, so is most protective of his protégé and unwilling to let a moment of his work go unchecked.

‘I always wanted to go out on loan but, because I was so far away, there was that worry I was going to fall off the face of the earth down there,’ said Lewis. ‘But I’m glad to see I have that strong relationship with the staff.

‘It’s not like I’ve come up here and they’ve forgotten about me. They still want to know how I’m getting on, what I’m getting up to. Dave Watson gets my clips sent to him. Every week we talk about how things are going — and it’s intense. It’s brilliant to know he’s always watching.’

Lewis was handed three FA Cup appearances last season, including the 5-0 home thrashing by Arsenal, and is clearly being nurtured at Southampton with a view to a top-level career. For now, the teenager regards his posting at United as an ideal stepping stone. ‘I’m loving playing football every week and enjoying life up here,’ he enthused. ‘I feel lucky that I get to be No 1 at a club like United at the moment. It’s very physical at this level, a difficult league. I don’t think there are easy games. ‘Conditions aren’t ideal, there are scrappy teams hard to break down. Because it is such a competitive league, it’s a big test for me.’