Southport were expected to struggle at the beginning of the season as their squad looked weak and uninspiring. Paul Carden had done well to steer the team to safety last season but he seemed out of his depth from the early weeks of the season. Luring an excellent player in Gary Jones was a good move though and the veteran midfielder would develop into the main player of the team over the course of the season. Otherwise, a few average players at this level and a few unproven youngsters were signed up to make that one of the more modest-looking squads in the league. A heavy 4:0 loss at the hands of Eastleigh made it an opening to forget and the team rarely showed anything suggesting that they can stay up in the early weeks. They collected a single point from the first six games and only bagged their first success after seeing off fellow strugglers Altrincham. That victory actually gave the team a bit of self-belief and only leaders Forest Green defeated them during a stretch of five games in September, including a battling draw against big local rivals Tranmere after being two goals up. Luke Foster and Josh Thompson developed a decent understanding at the back while the emergence of Louis Almond as an important player up front was a welcome boost. Yet there was still tangible lack of support for him in the final third and goals were hard to come by. The Port remained capable of getting some good results under their belt as Woking and Kidderminster were defeat in away games. But the Sandgrounders were getting found out more often than not and remained too close to the bottom four for comfort. They suffered four home losses in five games in front of their fans from September to late November, including a couple of 4:0 losses. The second of these proved fatal for Carden as the club chiefs decided to dispense with him to give the team a better chance of staying up. The decision to appoint former player Dino Maamria as a new manager proved an inspired one and it was what eventually saved Southport from what was looking like inevitable relegation. They immediately hit a brilliant run of form as a 1:0 win at direct rivals Welling gave the team belief. Maamria set them up to be much more compact and solid at the back while using their chances on the counter. Southport were easily the form side in December as they went on a run of six wins in a row to torpedo themselves up the table and build a nice cushion to the back four. That run included a brilliant 5:3 success over Eastleigh and another eventful victory over Wrexham. There was real blow to the team and Almond was central to the improvement, his movement and finishing quality giving the team a massive boost. But the momentum tailed off at the start of 2016 and results certainly got worse. Goals were suddenly hard to come by and the the team just could not play with the same freedom and urgency that they enjoyed before. Indeed, they went seven games without a win and were feeling the pressure of the relegation battle again. But then came a monumental effort and a huge win away at a strong side like Dover. That gave Southport the much-needed victory that kept the cushion. But Maamria departed only shortly after that as he cited difficulties in travelling. That left the club in limbo and they decided to install veteran striker Andy Bishop as a player-manager for the rest of the season. It seemed like a strange decision but was one that paid off nicely too as Bishop gave the team a new impetus with his laissez-faire type of management. Southport went on a six-game unbeaten run after he took over and that was enough to seal their place in the league. That means that the season is certainly a success and Bishop will be given the chance to build his side for next season after given the job on permanent basis.
