Southampton manager David Jones is facing nine charges related to sex offences and ill-treatment of children. The former Everton defender was formally charged when he returned to a Merseyside police station to answer bail yesterday. The allegations date back to the 1980s when the 43-year-old was employed as a care worker at a children's home in North Merseyside.

Jones, a married father of four, was first contacted by detectives while on holiday with his family in Florida earlier this year. He voluntarily attended Wavertree Road police station in Liverpool in June when he was arrested, questioned and released on bail without charge. At the time he emphatically denied any improper conduct, claiming the allegations were "completely false".

Jones was charged by detectives involved in Operation Care - a long-running investigation into allegations of child abuse dating back to the 1960s. A Merseyside police spokesman said: "He has been bailed to appear before Liverpool magistrates on November 2nd."

Regarding his position at Southampton, club chairman Rupert Lowe said: "We have obviously discussed the gravity of the situation and we, as a club, do take the view that people in this country are innocent until proven guilty. It's now a matter of the legal process taking its course and for Dave and his lawyers to be given a chance of proving his innocence in a court of law."