Ian St John began his career with Motherwell and once scored a hat-trick for the Fir Park club inside two and a half minutes. In May 1961 he joined Liverpool for £37,500 and scored a superb headed goal when the Anfield side beat Leeds United in the 1965 FA Cup Final.
He made 424 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 118 goals before leaving to join Coventry City. He alter had a short spell with Tranmere Rovers before entering management with Motherwell. After just one season in charge, in which Motherwell finished seventh in Division One, he moved south to manage Pompey.
The club had debts of around £300,000 and so St John had very little money to spend to strengthen the squad. Thigs became so desperate at one stage that he had to blood youth team players like Steve Foster and Chris Kamara, putting them straight into the first team.
The entire Portsmouth board resigned and St John was sacked with the club teetering on the brink of relegation to the Fourth Division. He later went on to work as a television presenter, co-hosting the Saint and Greavsie Show with Jimmy Greaves.
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