WORCESTER City may hold a special place in Paul Barratt's heart, but he is warning his former employers not to expect any favours when they arrive at Haig Avenue on Saturday.

Now at Southport, the former Liverpool 2006 FA Youth Cup winner, like he did at St George's Lane, is impressing with the Blue Square North high-flyers.

The 20-year-old Mancunian joined the Sandgrounders in November after a short spell with Worcester following his release from Anfield.

During his time at the Lane the fans voted Barratt the club's player-of-the-month for September before he left.

"I enjoyed my time at City, it is a really friendly club and they made me feel welcome," Barratt said.

"It'll be good to catch up with everyone before and after the game. They have been doing really well lately but hopefully they won't do that well on Saturday."

When Barratt left City, he cut his travelling from around two-and-a-half hours to just 50 minutes and was back training full-time.

"It was strange just going training twice a week, it was a bit a of struggle, especially with all the travelling," he said.

"When I came out of the academy at Liverpool, I never thought about what I was going to do. Then Andy Preece gave me a chance at Worcester and that is something I really appreciate.

"We still keep in contact now. He is always checking up to see how I'm doing."

Having started his career at Manchester City, Barratt was enticed across the M62 to join Steve Heighway's impressive academy.

But, following his release from Anfield, the 20-year-old, who spent three years with the Reds, was wondering which way to turn.

"I never really thought about playing non-league football, but when I got to Worcester I found the level of football to be quite a good standard," he said.

"I thought that it would be difficult to adjust but I managed to fit in."

Now under the tutelage of former Manchester United star Peter Davenport, Barratt and his Sandgrounder team-mates are second in Blue Square North, five points behind leaders Kettering Town.

Southport are on an 11-game unbeaten run in the league with their last defeat coming in October when they lost 1-0 at Harrogate.

The defeat came hot on the heels of a 2-1 setback at the hands of City.