Southampton’s Mark Whitlock played for Exeter City in a pre-season friendly in 1983 with a view towards signing permanently. Yet he returned to the Dell after a week where he spent another three seasons before playing for Bournemouth, Reading and Aldershot in a 238-game Football keague career.

Then aged twenty-two, he had been a professional with Southampton since 1979 and had made his league debut in 1981. In total he went on to make sixty-one league appearances for the Saints through to 1986 when he joined Bournemouth where he played ninety-nine times in the league. 

He finished his professional career with Reading and Aldershot..