Short and barrel-chested, Sammy Lee didn’t look a whole lot like a footballer but, as the owner of five medals from his Liverpool days – three League championship and two European Cup – to say nothing of his 14 England caps,

he had the last laugh whenever the dressing-room was in “show-us-your-medals” mood. Not that he spent long in the Saints’ dressing-room.

The wrong side of 30 when Chris Nicholl brought him to The Dell on a free transfer, Sammy never made a start in Nicholl’s midfield and was soon back in the north-west, alternating, in various coaching capacities, between Liverpool and Bolton, save for a stint in the England coaching set-up under Sven-Goran Eriksson. In the summer of 2014 he was about to become Sammy Hyypia’s assistant at Brighton when somewhat out of the blue he instead joined Ronald Koeman’s coaching team at St Mary’s, although he departed two years later when Koeman went to Everton.

He was out of work for less than a month as new England manager, Sam Allardyce brought him into England’s coaching set-up, but when Allardyce’s was dismissed a few months later he left upon Southgate’s anointment. He has since renewed his partnership with Allardyce, which originated at Bolton back in 2005, to Crystal Palace and then Everton but both appointments were short-lived. In 2020 both men resurfaced at the Hawthorns.