DURING the much-needed win against Fulham it was a privilege to be reunited with the one and only George Lawrence.

It’s always good to meet up with players I worked with and it’s happened more often of late at St Mary’s.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Nicky Banger, one of my youngsters at The Dell, spends matchdays escorting other former players around big hospitality rooms full of supporters.

It was very good to see George again after all these years.

He was a powerful left-winger who was spotted by our London scouts before making more than 80 appearances for us after I gave him his debut in 1981.

George is now 57 and it made me realise how old we were getting when he introduced a fine, athletic young man who has just completed a coaching badge and is going to Manchester University later this year to study economics.

George’s son may have to pack up non-league football due to a knee injury but it sounds like he has a very bright future nevertheless.

While talking about the good old days, I asked George how his friend Danny Wallace is doing. Danny was one of my signings, along with his twin brothers.

We were probably the only club with three brothers on the pitch at the same time.

For many years now, Danny has suffered from MS. Nicky told me he still lives in Manchester, where he moved to play for United, and he will make every effort to get Danny down again soon.

It would be good to see him and his brothers as well as the likes of Steve Williams, who always kept in touch with Danny and went out of his way to help him.

I’m sure supporters will be delighted if Nicky could bring a group like that together.

He’s organising a charity effort in June, when the likes of Rickie Lambert, Matt Le Tissier, Peter Shilton, Kevin Keegan and yours truly will be at St Mary’s. Apparently 450 tickets have already been sold.

I couldn’t wait to ask George what he’s doing now.

He smiled and said “still on the buses”.

When he finished playing he went abroad before returning to London, where he became a bus driver.

We used to joke that we’d prefer to get the next one if his driving was anything like his shots at goal!

If George was playing now somehow I don’t think he would have to drive buses at the end of his career.

He said he has something else lined up and will let me know in due course.

Whatever it is, I hope it makes him very happy.

One supporter who would have loved to meet George Lawrence is a young man I met recently called Sam Moss.

I came across him after a request from Nicky Parsons, who works for Southampton Council Day Services and is connected with Oaklands Team and Recreational Sports (OTARS).

For more than eight years, OTARS has been affiliated to Special Olympics GB, of which I’m president.

Based in Woolston, it gives adults with learning difficulties opportunities to participate in sporting activities.

Sembal House provides a community focus for adults with severe mental health learning or physical disabilities.

There’s an emphasis on providing services that focus on a person’s needs with a flexible and innovative approach.

When I was asked to send Sam a video message last year it was mainly because he’s a fanatical Saints supporter who was in Southampton General’s intensive care unit with a 50-50 chance of survival.

Thankfully, after many operations he pulled through.

Last Saturday we were reunited in the hospital car park.

When I got out of my car, Sam ran towards me and gave me a big cuddle before revealing the Saints shirt he was wearing!

We were joined by nurses and a doctor from the department that saved Sam.

The delight on his face was memorable as he presented them with a cheque for £1,600 - which was raised by a group of local VW van drivers who raise funds for various charities - as a thank you for the work they did with him and continue to do for many others.

I never met Dusan Tadic but I have to correct what he was reported to say earlier this week.

He claimed that the sixth and seventh positions the club achieved under Ronald Koeman in 2015 and 2016 were the best in the club’s history. He did not stipulate ‘in the Premier League’ so I should point out, on behalf of my 1983/84 squad, that the club’s second place that year, three points behind Liverpool in a 42-game season, is Southampton’s highest-ever league position.