 He made his first team debut just a few days later in a 2–1 defeat against Portsmouth, before scoring his first goal for the club a week later in a second 2–1 defeat against Bolton Wanderers.He went on to finish his first professional season with 20 goals in all competitions and scored 6 in the opening 12 matches of the following season before being displaced by new signing Bobby Brown and was allowed to leave to join Southport for £6,000 in February 1967, a club record fee at the time.Signed by manager Billy Bingham as a replacement for Jim Fryatt who had left to join Torquay United, he scored on his debut during a 3–0 victory over Barnsley on 4 March 1967.