Having joined Celtic as a 16-year-old, Stephen Crainey remained with his home-town club until he was coming 23. Then, after 58 appearances for them, including a Scottish League Cup Final and five games in Europe, he joined Southampton in February 2004. The holder of five full caps, he was only the second current Scotland international in over 100 years to join the Saints. By the end of the season, he had won two more caps yet had made only five intermittent appearances, all at left-back, in the Premiership for Southampton.

His arrival had been welcomed by Chairman, Rupert Lowe – he would fill “a difficult position,” was “the right age and… a good one for the future”

– but Stephen was seemingly the victim of the differing opinions of two former Scotland internationals. Gordon Strachan gave Stephen his debut, but then promptly departed. Having hardly played him, Strachan’s successor, Paul Sturrock, loaned Stephen, come August, to Leeds, who had just been relegated to the Championship. Leeds soon made the move permanent, at a substantial loss to Southampton. When his three-year contract was up, Stephen joined Blackpool. His six seasons with them – in which he was almost ever-present, save when twice sidelined by injuries – included their exciting flirtation with Premiership football in 2010-11. By the time he retired from playing he had won 12 Scotland caps and in 2019 he was coaching Fleetwood Town’s U18s