Dean Hammond joined Southampton towards the end of August 2009 and was almost immediately made first-team skipper at St Mary’s. A box-to-box midfielder with an eye for goal, Dean proved to be an astute acquisition.

Dean’s career began with his home town club Brighton & Hove Albion, where he racked up over 200 first-team appearances prior to signing for Colchester, where he was Player of the Season for 2008-09. Dean invariably appears in the right place at the right time and does the right thing without fuss.

A near ever-present in 2010-11, he captained Saints to runners-up place in League One having led them to victory in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy the previous season.