Lancashire returns to Southampton as B team player and mentor
Lancashire made 17 appearances for Saints at the start of his career
Written by Training Ground Guru — July 27, 2021
OLLY LANCASHIRE has returned to Southampton as a player and mentor for their B team.
The 32-year-old centre-back, who has played more than 300 senior games, made 17 appearances for Saints at the start of his career.
His appointment follows similar moves by Manchester United and Brighton earlier this month. Last week United announced that Paul McShane, 35, was rejoining the club as U23s player-coach.
And at the start of July Brighton appointed Gary Dicker, 34, as U23s player-coach, replacing Andrew Crofts, who had had the same role.
Southampton Academy Director Matt Hale said: “It’s something that myself and (Director of Football) Matt Crocker have had a good discussion about over the summer.
“Olly is someone Matt knew from his time here before and, when it comes to the idea behind this, Olly ticks all of those boxes that we were after.
“He has a vast amount of experience playing league football, and that professionalism and characteristic that he’s got will be massive in terms of getting that across to our players.
“Olly will be a strong leader to take this group onto the next level and make sure we’re operating in the right way. He’s got a key role to play in that.”
Lancashire added: “I’m delighted to be back. I’ll be here to train with the B team lads, to try and guide them, mentor them and prepare them for what is a very tough industry.
“Ultimately, we want as many of the players here to play for the first-team. Hopefully I can use my experience from playing professional football for 15 years.
“If I can teach them the character traits and the behaviours I was fortunate enough to learn here then it will stand them in good stead.”
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