Forever Saint Award: Dave Merrington
Southampton Football Club proudly presented former manager Dave Merrington with its latest Forever Saint award, at half-time of Tuesday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The award celebrates incredible contributions made both at Saints and in the community by ex-players, club servants and community champions, with Merrington giving a rousing speech to fans and receiving a tremendous reception from the crowd as he picked up the honour.
A long-time youth coach at Southampton, Merrington helped to guide and develop the likes of Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and the Wallace brothers, as they progressed through the ranks at The Dell.
He then went on to take charge of the first-team in the 1995/96 season and, against the odds, was able to guide the team to Premier League survival.
Merrington, 76, has subsequently worked for many years as the much-loved summariser and co-commentator for the club’s matches on BBC Radio Solent, bringing his passion, enthusiasm and knowledge for Saints, as well as the game as a whole, to listeners everywhere.
