How 'element of delusion' helped ex-Bolton Wanderers striker on journey back to Blackpool

Dion Charles’ belief in his own ability has been one of the main driving factors behind his success in the EFL after being released by Blackpool as a teenager.

The forward is back at Bloomfield Road, on loan from Huddersfield Town, 12 years on from departing without a senior appearance under his belt.

After a period floating between the EFL and non-league, the now-Northern Ireland international found success with Southport.

Following his move to Haig Avenue in January 2018, Charles enjoyed a fruitful 18-month spell with the Sandgrounders, scoring 18 goals in 63 appearances.

Liam Watson was the 30-year-old’s manager for some of that time, and knew he had a talent on his hands - with success later coming with both Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers.

When asked if he could foresee a player at Southport who was capable of scoring 20 plus goals a season in League One, he responded: “Yeah, 100 percent. I saw it, but Dion probably thought he could get 30. He’s got that much self belief and confidence.

“One of his best strengths is an element of delusion, where he’s got that much belief in his own ability; it's been one of the driving factors that took him out of non-league football.

“He just needs to find that home and environment, that he had at Southport, that he had at Accrington, that he had at Bolton. If he gets that, then he’ll flourish.

“Blackpool was his ex-club and Ian (Evatt) is his ex-manager, so he’s got a lot of stuff around him that’s familiar. All of the ingredients are there, and I think he’ll have a really good season.”

While things haven’t worked out for Charles at Huddersfield in recent times, he still has a strong record in League One, with 77 third tier goals under his belt - including 57 under Ian Evatt at Bolton.

Watson believes it’s important for the striker to have strong figures around him both on and off the pitch to offer guidance.

“I liked Dion from day one - people might’ve thought it’d be difficult for me to get him and him to get me, but it wasn’t,” he added.

“It wasn’t just me - he was lucky he had David Morgan as his captain, they were really close. He had so many good people around him at Southport.

“Morgs is really a family orientated and bright individual, and I think it’s been a really good relationship for Dion because Morgs will always guide him in the right direction.

“Sometimes at the smaller clubs, it’s a lot easier to keep someone on the straight and narrow. I’m not saying he’s a bad lad, but sometimes we all need to be set aside. We try to set our standards as high as we possibly can. He was as good as gold for me.”

When Accrington Stanley came calling for Charles in 2019, Watson admits he was never going to stand in the striker’s way.

“I’ve always been a little bit different,” he stated.

“When you’re managing in non-league and you’ve got a player who you know shouldn’t be at that level, your job isn’t to talk him out of it.

“Clubs like Southport should be moving players up. It goes all the way, Nottingham Forest have just sold Elliot Anderson to Manchester City. If you can keep moving up, then you should.

“My thing as a non-league manager was to make sure I've identified his replacement.

“As soon as a player has said yes to a move, I’ve always tried my hardest to make it happen. I’ve been lucky at every club I’ve been at that I’ve been allowed to deal with all of the transfers in and out.

“I knew Dion was going to go. He played two games at the start of the 2019/20 season, both were 0-0, and he didn’t get close to scoring a goal, but then Accrington came in and the deal was done. It was sorted with John Coleman in about two minutes.”