All three are young professionals with immense potential and being from the local area shows that the strategy of the club is to try to recruit and retain players from nearby with the view to giving them exposure to first-team football.

Lewis Doyle, who is only 17, is from the town and has played in the youth teams at the club as well as for Preston North End for seven years.

He has also represented Sefton at county level.

On getting a deal, the midfielder told https://southportfc.net: “This club is on the up and is a really good chance for me to make a difference to a team that is close to my heart. I have already had a taste of what it feels like here and I want to kick-on now and show everyone what I can do more often.”

Davies, 22, joins after previously spending time at Tranmere Rovers and Chester FC.

He began his professional career at Tranmere, where he signed his first contract back in 2014.

The midfielder captained the academy side, before departing Rovers at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.

Davies, the older brother of Everton star Tom, joined Chester in the summer of 2016 and spent time out on loan with Leek Town.

From Liverpool and also a midfielder, he has already impressed in pre-season scoring at Widnes with an eye-catching effort.

Davies said: “The opportunity to be a part of this team and re-build the club to where it belongs is such a good opportunity. The club wants to promote young players and I’m looking forward to being given the chance to put the shirt on and play in front of the fans.”

Hollins, also from Liverpool, has spent time at Liverpool and Everton as well as Stoke City and Rochdale, and also had a spell on loan in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League North with Colne last season.

The 19-year-old towering defender commented on signing for the club: “This is such a good experience to join a team that is not only local to me but want to improve in everything they do. The people already in place means it was a no-brainer to join and continue honing my skills.”

To further their football development and ensure all three continue to play regular football at a good standard for the start of the season, Doyle will go on loan to Northern Premier League West outfit Droylsden with Davies and Hollins both joining Northern Premier League side Marine AFC.

The plan is all three will come back from their experiences stronger and will represent the club in the near future. This means ultimately the club can rely less on transfers and build from within to further improve Southport’s connections with the local community.