Having played for the well-respected Wallsend Boys Club in the north-east and recommended to Southampton by the famous scout Jack Hixon, Steve Baker had an enviable early pedigree, but because of the presence of full-back Ivan Golac at The Dell he had to wait until the last game of the 80-81 season for his debut – a 3-2 win at Portman Rd. He had to wait until Golac departed in 1982 to get a few more games under his belt, but then McMenemy first decided to switch Reuben Agboola to No. 2 and then bought Mick Mills. That pattern was repeated in 1985-86, with the arrival of Gerry Forest halting Baker’s second run of league appearances. Forrest was cup-tied, however so Steve played in every round of Saints’ FA Cup-run – until he was omitted for the semi-final.

That was the “biggest disappointment” of his career and he determined to leave. In the end he stayed another season in which he played in a majority of the League games and in the League Cup run, this time coming off bench in the semi-final at Anfield. The variety of shirt numbers he wore in that 86-87 season reflected his ability to do a job in midfield, sometimes man-marking – already a familiar assignment for him, not least in Europe. His second league start of 1987-88 – a 2-0 home defeat by Portsmouth – would be his last. He accepted blame for one of Pompey’s goals but felt he unfairly took the can for the overall performance.

At Fourth Division Orient he was a regular first teamer, making over 100 appearances and then his League career ended with a handful of games at Dean Court. He continued to play non-league until he was 40, his most notable spell being five seasons at Farnborough in the Conference. He has since had a number of positions in the game, including work as an analyst for the PFA and the Press Association but, most significantly, with the Saints Academy. In 2004 he became a stevedore in the Docks.