WANDERERS will be rolling out the welcome mat for Sammy Lee on Saturday when he returns to the Reebok for the first time since he was sacked by the club.

The former Whites boss, appointed as Rafa Benitez’s assistant in May, arrives with a Liverpool side riding high in the Premier League table.

His appearance on the Reds bench will conjure mixed emotions among the Wanderers fraternity.

Lee was axed just six months after taking on his first managerial post from Sam Allardyce in May 2007.

A disastrous reign ended with the club second bottom, having taken just five points from their first nine games of the season.

Behind the scenes, in-fighting and massive staffing changes had destablised his position, resulting in his sacking on October 11 last year. But his successor Gary Megson paid tribute to the job the former England Under-21 coach did as assistant where, alongside Allardyce, he helped guide Wanderers into Europe during a two-year-stint as his number two.

“For a first job, it was probably as difficult a task as you could imagine,” said Megson. “But Sammy is a great guy. It didn’t particularly work out in terms of his time as a manager but it certainly did in his time as coach and assistant manager. His period here coincided with some fantastic achievements and it will be great to have him back.”

Liverpool are level on points with Chelsea at the top of the table and arrive at the Reebok Stadium for the lunchtime kick-off having lost just once all season in the league. Many, including Megson, believe Benitez’s squad is finally ready to mount a serious challenge for their first league title in 18 years.

“They always have been genuine title contenders, but this year more than ever,” he said. “The team itself is packed with quality right the way through, that includes people on the bench and people not even in the squad. It’s one of the biggest football clubs in the world.

“They have such amazing tradition and look like they have really got it going this season. It’s a massive test.”