By Steven Oldham Cover photo: Julia Irwin/Southport FC
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New surroundings, in familiar territory
They say familiarity breeds contempt – but not for Southport’s summer signing Sam Minihan, who is well underway in his seventh season overall at Step 2 in the National League North.
The 30-year-old defender linked up with The Sandgrounders on a two-year deal after leaving divisional rivals Buxton following a 12-month stay in the High Peak – capped by winning the Supporters’ Player of the Year award.
It’s a division Minihan knows well – in addition to winning it with Stockport County, he also earned his stripes here in the formative stages of his career with former members Worcester City and Droylsden (on loan).
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He says the opportunity to work with new boss Jim Bentley was a key factor in his decision to move to the Merseyside club – and had turned down offers over the summer to return to full time football to do so.
“Jim’s interest in signing me was a big pulling power for me to go to Southport. They’re a big club, that has the potential ambition to keep growing. I’ve still got that desire to get promotions and play as high as possible. I feel Southport can offer me that and it feels like an exciting time to be at the club.
“I had a couple options to go back full time or stay part-time, but nothing concrete. From the moment last season finished he’s been on the phone, showing interest. He spoke to a lot of people that know me, and have played with or against me.
Minihan: Maturing with age
“You can get messed around by clubs pretending to show interest, while keeping you at arm’s length. As a player, when you get a bit older you want a bit of security. In the past, I’d probably have focused on myself a bit more and been a bit greedy – but there’s other things in the equation now. Ten years ago we’d have been having a very different conversation!,” he said.
“The gaffer’s built a strong squad and he got his transfer work done early. As a result, we’ve already got that tight-knit group”
Minihan – who has become engaged and an expectant father in a matter of months – was one of a number of new signings made early on in the summer – with a host of names familiar to non-league fans across the North West also linking up with the club. Ex-Macclesfield and FC United striker Tunde Owelabi, Bury skipper Tom Moore joined, while former Chorley man Marcus Carver signed up for a second permanent spell – and fourth overall – at the club.
He is confident the club can better last season’s relegation scrap, and says everyone at the club will admit the club underachieved. He sees similarities to his time at Stockport, with Southport looking to rebuild and regain – at least – Step 1 status and grow both on and off the field under their ambitious new owners.
Minihan is something of a cult hero at Edgeley Park (and – full disclosure – your writer is a County fan), where he racked up over 200 appearances across all competitions and won two league titles as The Hatters returned to the EFL. Working a second job in the club’s community section further endeared him with the locals.
Minihan aims for repeat success
Brought into the club by Jim Gannon in summer 2016, he quickly became a mainstay in defence and on the wing as the club slowly began to recover from its’ rapid descent down the divisions over the previous half decade. He credits Gannon with instilling qualities in his teams that he still uses to this day.
So, what makes a title winning side?: “You need to maintain high standards throughout the season – establish regular goalscorers and keeping clean sheets. It goes back to the basics – hard work, team spirit, being hard to beat and knowing the league. Playing a certain style at home, and changing it for away games.
“Discipline is a big factor – Jim Gannon set a culture that was always big on keeping discipline. We won the Fair Play award a few times while I was there, so that clearly correlates to success. I can pass on all these things I learned in those early days while playing part-time there, here at Southport. We have to maximise the limited time we have, and use every detail to our advantage.”
Moving on from Edgeley Park
All good things must come to an end, and after six seasons he left SK3 on a free transfer to return to the National League with FC Halifax Town for the 22-23 season. Frankly, it was a campaign neither party will regard as a success, and Minihan quietly left The Shay after a year with just 11 appearances under his belt.
A better spell followed at Buxton, as the player returned to favour and he helped the club record comfortably maintain their Step 2 status with a 14th place finish in their second season in the second tier. Southport, meanwhile had an awful start before Bentley’s arrival in late August saw the club climb from plum last to a 17th place finish.
“I really enjoyed my time at Buxton, and I wish them all the best. They’ve moved to the full time model this year and we’ll see how that works out. I had a really good season there – I played a lot of games and was voted Supporter’s Player of the Year. I’ll look back fondly on that time.
“Buxton going full-time didn’t make me decide to move on – there’s a lot of decisions that influence your final choice. Everyone speaks so highly of Jim Bentley. I’ve been told he’s the best manager you’ll ever play for – he’s a real man manager, he’s passionate and he loves the game.”
The changing face of the National League North
The division has changed beyond recognition since he first stepped out onto a NLN pitch twelve years ago for Droylsden, on loan from boyhood club Rochdale. The ever-growing professionalism of the game is the main difference, as most recently evidenced by fallen big guns Scunthorpe United’s failure to gain promotion at the first attempt last season.
“There’s more full time teams and even the part time teams provide a full time environment on part time hours. A lot of big clubs have dropped out of the Football League, so it’s become a lot stronger.
“Danny Lloyd doesn’t shut up at the best of times!”
“You see players coming from National League clubs successfully moving into the EFL. There’s a lot of hidden gems in the lower leagues that shouldn’t be underestimated. “
It’s really not easy to get out of these non-leagues – but that’s the ultimate goal with Southport – I know how to do it and that’s what I plan on doing.”
Minihan reunites with old team-mates
There’s something of an old boys’ reunion taking place at Haig Avenue this year, with Minihan’s ex-teammates Danny Lloyd and Jordan Keane also among the playing staff – not that’s he any better off for it! Lloyd is into his second campaign back in his native Merseyside while Keane is a fellow new recruit.
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“Players speak when they’re away over the summer – Danny Lloyd doesn’t shut up at the best of times! He didn’t stop messaging me once he knew there was a bit of interest. I knew that Keano was looking at clubs, and had a few options, but ‘Agent Minihan’ managed to persuade him to come here.
“I’ve asked for a bit of commission which I’m yet to see – and I’ll probably be waiting a long time knowing how tight he is. In all seriousness, it’s great to have them here – the gaffer has said he wanted to sign winners.”
The original, shorter version of this article featured in The Non-League Paper, available here
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