Gilchrist adds to the Claret flavour at Southport
Things are changing at Southport Football Club with new investment and a new manager with last month’s appointment of former Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End striker Kevin Davies.
Davies replaced Alan Lewer who had been in charge only from the start of the season and it was Lewer who signed Burnley winger Brad Jackson on a season long loan before breaking Southport’s transfer record to buy former development squad midfielder Nathan Lowe from FC United of Manchester.
Earlier this month, Davies added to the ex-Claret contingent at Southport with the capture of Dave Lynch from Halifax and then, two days ago broke the transfer record again as they swooped once more on FC United to sign striker Jason Gilchrist who had already netted 15 goals this season.
Southport were beaten 3-0 at home by Blyth Spartans last Saturday but after the match they confirmed the signing of Gilchrist with director Martyn O’Hara saying: “This is a record transfer fee paid by Southport FC, and reaffirms our intent and ambition for the football club. “Jason is a proven goalscorer at this level and we are delighted to have secured his signature.”
His new manager Davies added: “He’s had a good season so far. He adds goals and quality. We’ve been chasing him for a while now and we’re delighted he’s made the move to come and join us. It’s a big signing for the club.”
The view from Manchester came from FC United CEO Damian Chadwick. He said: “As a club we want to see young players flourish, but when another club is willing to pay a significant sum of money for our players, we have to do what is best for both the club and the player. In the case of Lowe and Gilchrist, we simply could not turn these offers down.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, we would like to wish Jason all the very best in the future. He has played a crucial role for us since joining us at the beginning of the 2016/17 season and especially in recent weeks with some to quality strikes. We’d like to thank Southport for working with us to agree a deal that is of benefit to all parties.”
Gilchrist’s only first team action at Burnley came in pre-season games. He scored in the 8-0 win against FC Großklein in July 2014 and then scored the winner at Accrington a week later but a year later suffered a broken leg in a behind closed doors game at St. Mirren.
The closest he came to competitive first team football at Burnley was in the 1-1 draw at Watford in the 2013/14 promotion season when he was named as a substitute. With us losing 1-0, he was getting ready to come on when Scott Arfield equalised.
He’s probably best remembered for his performance in the FA Youth Cup against Manchester United at Old Trafford in November 2012 when he scored a hat trick in a memorable 4-3 win for the young Clarets.
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