GRAEME SOUNESS was in town and the word’s got out that the Liverpool boss wants to sign Wrexham left-back Phil Hardy.

Brian Flynn’s Reds were playing Scarborough at home and Souness was in the 2,000 crowd at The Racecourse that fateful night on March 10, 1992.

Ellesmere Port-born Hardy was just 19 at the time but already had 70 first team appearances under his belt and scouts were watching him.

“I’d heard the rumours he was there to watch me,” said Hardy - one of a whole host of talented teenagers that were coming off the Reds successful youth policy production line.

“I felt under a bit of pressure, who wouldn’t? But when Souness passes me in the corridor prior to the game and says ‘alright Phil’ your mind’s then racing.

“I was nervous and, from memory, I don’t think I had the best of games.”

The rest is history as 24 hours later, Liverpool had tabled a £300,000 bid for striker Lee Jones.

The dream move never materialised and although, understandably, it took the teenager a few months to ‘get over it’, it taught Hardy one important lesson that’s he’s keen to pass on to all would-be footballers - including his 13-year-old son, Callum.

“There’s a fine line in football, in all sports really,” added Hardy. “You have to make the most of every opportunity and play every game at your full potential. To be spotted, signed, whatever, you have to be at your best.

“I’ve told my son, Callum, that. He’s 13 and a striker on Crewe’s books. I’ve told him what happened to me and that to make it in football, you’ve got to work extremely hard and, almost, be one step ahead of everyone else. You have to be ready because you don’t know who’s watching.

“I think I was playing for Ellesmere Port Schoolboys at Yale College when Cliff Sear came to watch. He asked me to join Wrexham and what a great man he was. You only have to look at the number of players he brought through into Flynnie’s first team. I really hope he does make it and me and my family will be backing him all the way, just like my mum and dad did with me.”

Alan and Mavis Hardy followed their son all over the country with Wrexham. Something that didn’t go un-noticed for a player who went on to make more than 400 appearance for Wrexham.

“Mum and dad were great,” added Hardy, now 47 and managing his own pallet firm in his home-town of Ellesmere Port. “They went everywhere and they loved it. But it was such a friendly club, like a family in a way. Joey Jones, Cliff Sear and obviously coming through the ranks with other youngsters who were in the first team, certainly helped.

“We also had good senior pros around like Neil Salathiel, Nigel Beaumont, Sean Reck and Graham Cooper. The played hard and partied hard too. That was a brilliant learning curve for all of us and I always look back on my Wrexham days with fond memories - they were the best days of my life.”

It was 20 years ago last month that Hardy scored his one and only goal for Wrexham in a 12-year spell.

While he remembers the feeling of hitting the back of the net and being mobbed by his team-mates, including Karl Connolly who played in front of Hardy down the left, it was another chant that gave him more satisfaction.

“One goal in 12 years at Wrexham and then I score three minutes into my debut at Port Vale. You wouldn’t believe it?” added Hardy.

“But you’ve got to remember that it was my job to stop people scoring and that’s what the Kop used to sing: ‘You’ll never beat Phil Hardy’ and that made the hairs stick up on the back of my neck.

“Also marking Ryan Giggs at Old Trafford in the FA Cup, the Arsenal game. Playing at Goodison Park and Upton Park and winning promotion at Northampton.”

Hardy’s time at Wrexham ended with boss Flynn giving him a free transfer in 2001 - a decision Hardy certainly didn’t agree with.

“Twelve years I was at the football club and Brian Flynn got rid of me in three minutes,” said Hardy. “I didn’t shake his hand because I was hurt. I thought he’d made completely the wrong decision.

“I did lose my love for the game but watching Callum now makes me want to help him all the way in trying to become a professional footballer because, as I said, it gave me the best days of my life.”