The season which followed confirmed Southport's status in the Conference. Though
never leading the field, the club was seldom out of the top six and eventually
finished a very creditable third; the tone was set with an early 4-1 victory over
the 1993-94 champions Kidderminster Harriers, in which the versatile Alan McDonald,
making a rare appearance at centre-forward, led the line with panache and was
rewarded with two goals; but the turning point of the campaign came at home on
January 7th when, before 2,207 spectators, Southport allowed runaway leaders Macclesfield
Town to overturn a 2-0 deficit and escape with an unlikely 3-2 win.
The biggest disappointments, however, were the Round One exits from both
the major F.A. competitions — 3-2 at Altrincham in the Cup and 2-0 at Telford
in the Trophy. Nor did success attend the club in the minor cups, Marine winning
a place in the Liverpool Senior Cup Final while Southport meekly surrendered their
place in the Lancashire A.T.S. Trophy following an administrative blunder concerning
registration.
On the positive side the unfortunate departure of popular goalkeeper Paul Moore
was remedied by the acquisition of the reliable John McKenna, the only ever-present
of the season. Jimmy Blackhurst's return to full fitness proved both welcome and
rewarding, while Dave Gamble's late season flourish augured well for the future.
The essential stability of key positions saw the season finish with not only Dave
Fuller, David Gamble and Alan McDonald in the club's top five for non-League appearances
but with skipper Paul Lodge also past the 130 game mark.
Yet the real shock was reserved for the closing weeks. One Thursday evening in
the middle of March came the sudden announcement that Brian Kettle — the
manager through almost six very successful campaigns — had 'resigned for
personal reasons'. 1994-95 had been his first year in a full-time capacity, a
move intended to smooth the transition to a place in the Football League. The
abruptness of his departure fuelled much speculation as to its exact nature; the
general consensus was that, despite the official pronouncement, the boot may well
have been on the other foot ...
Within a week or two his replacement had been appointed. Billy Ayre, a County
Durham man with a pedigree in Football League management, was installed for the
final month. The ever enthusiastic Steve Joel, himself a candidate for the top
job, was happy to remain as his assistant. At the April A.G.M. Chairman
Charles Clapham — revealing a record 148,00o profit for 1993-94 —
reaffirmed
his avowed intention to regain Southport's rightful place in the Football League.
As the season concluded with a ten game unbeaten run, the omens looked undeniably
propitious. Only time would tell.
Sources: The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9