Towering hero of the last day escape act

Locking horns will be two teams close to the heart of the 38-year-old who now combines being a publican with the role as player-manager of Dr Martens League side Dorchester Town.

Wimbledon was the place where Morris made his name while Albion provided him with one of the biggest games of his career.

That came on the final day of the 1996-97 season when the Seagulls drew 1-1 at Hereford to preserve their league status and send their hosts down to the Conference.

Four years on, Morris recognises the importance of the occasion.

He said: "If you look at the fortunes of the two clubs now, Hereford are still in the Conference and Brighton are in the Second Division.

"If it had been a reversal of the outcome on the last day at Hereford it might have been even worse for Brighton. If they had dropped out of the league people may not have been able to pick up the strings in the same way.

"As a player, we were playing for the future of a club steeped in tradition. It was one of the biggest games in my career and the result was paramount.

"I was about 35 then. It was getting to be close to the end of my career and I wanted to end on a decent result.

"Hopefully I played some part in keeping the club up."

He certainly did that. Morris may have only made 31 League appearances for Albion but his contribution in the 1996-97 season was every bit as important as the much-lauded Robbie Reinelt.

An experienced centre back who had played in the top flight with Wimbledon, Watford and Sheffield United, Morris arrived at the Goldstone in October 1996 and made an immediate impact.

Made captain for his first game in charge, Morris scored the winning goal at Hartlepool to secure the club's only away win of the season.

He said: "Jimmy Case brought me in from Bournemouth. At the time he needed an experienced centre half.

"I remember my debut at Hartlepool. I scored and we won 3-2, so I got off to a good start. Things were difficult at the club then. There was a lot going on off the football field. The story of the chairman and Archer was paramount in the minds of people.

"It was a difficult time but I enjoyed my time at the club very much."

While full time at Hereford provided the start of a brighter future for Albion, the same could not be said for Morris and a few of his team-mates at Edgar Street.

The club's problems had still not gone away and, in a bid to save money, Morris and four other players - Craig Maskell, Denny Mundee, Paul McDonald and John Humphrey - were released from their contracts in December 1997.

It marked the end of Morris's League career which spanned seven clubs, 510 appearances and 23 goals.

Morris moved on to Hastings Town for a couple of seasons before taking over as player-manager at Dorchester midway through the 1999-2000 season.

Last year The Magpies were relegated to the eastern division and Morris is now restoring morale in a young squad which features former West Ham and Blackburn midfielder Matty Holmes.

Morris, who still turns out when required, is still adapting to non-league life. He said: "The non-league game is a hell of a lot different to the pro game which I was used to for such a long time.

"With non-league people they have job requirements to earn money elsewhere. I have to get round these things and if someone says they can't turn up for training because they have to go to work I have to accept it."

Morris also has another job - running the Athelston Arms at Tuckton in the suburbs of Bournemouth.

He said: "It is hard work and another venture in life. I played professionally for 20-odd years but at the time the wages were nowhere near what they are these days.

"Some of the boys who play in the Premiership for two or three years can set themselves up for life. With the wages I was on I was always going to have to find alternative work."

There is no great envy in Morris's tone, just realism after a career which gave him some great times, none more so than as part of the Crazy Gang at Wimbledon.

He said: "When I first joined them they had just got into the Football League. In the first couple of seasons they were a bit of a yo-yo team, although I wasn't in the side then.

"They got promoted, then relegated the following season, then promoted and relegated again.

"I was lucky enough to make my debut in the old Third Division at Exeter in 1981.

"We got relegated that year but from then on we started going up and going all the way through and by 1985-86 we were playing in Division One.

"It was unbelievable. When I left school I wanted to be a professional footballer. But if someone had said five years later I would be playing against the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool, well, it would be a dream come true.

"We were quite successful too. We didn't just hang in there. In our first season we finished sixth in the league, which was extremely good.

"There were some great lads at the club. They were called the Crazy Gang. We had the likes of Wally Downes, Steve Galliers, Alan Cork. These lads were the originators of the Crazy Gang.

"A bit later the Fashanus, the Joneses, the Wises and the Winterburns came to the club to carry on the tradition."

Morris admits he still keeps a close eye on the results of all of his previous clubs and was particularly pleased to see the transformation of Albion under Micky Adams.

He added: "It was nice to see Brighton doing well last year. I have no regrets about any of the sides I played for. I was fortunate enough that wherever I went I was received well and I enjoyed my time playing for them."