Like Hoddle, Souness' managerial career always rested far more on his high reputation as a player than any real achievements that he had as a manager. At Liverpool he only won an FA Cup after all four of his predecessors had won league titles, stretching back over three decades. Meanwhile, he managed to fall out with players, fans and directors before his eventual resignation in January 1994. After a brief spell in Turkey with Galatasary, he returned to England to manage Southampton for the 1996-97 season. Despite having Matt Le Tissier still at the peak of his form and good incoming players in Norwegians Claus Lundekvam and Egil Ostenstad, Souness' one season in the Saints job was not a successful one. An implausible 6-3 win against Manchester United may have excited fans and promised some future developments, but it was followed by a six match winless streak that included a 7-1 defeat to a mediocre Everton team who would be stuck towards the bottom of the table alongside Southampton all season. The absolute low point, however, came when Souness made himself and the club a laughing stock by signing useless Senegalese forward Ali Dia on the say so of a none too convincing fraudulent phone call claiming Dia was "George Weah's cousin" and then putting the amateur player into the team for a Premier League match. Southampton avoided relegation by one point on the last day of the season and Souness resigned shortly afterwards before pursuing unsuccessful stints in Europe with Torino and Benfica.
