A former professional footballer has told a jury that a former Southampton youth coach accused of child sexual abuse offences would cuddle up to his favourite players on his sofa and banned girlfriends because he considered them a distraction.

Mark Blake, who was trained by Bob Higgins at Southampton before playing for Fulham and Shrewsbury Town, claimed the coach’s preferred players were known as “Bob’s boys”.

Now 50, Blake said that as a boy Higgins spotted he had a love bite and told him he was going to be kicked out of Southampton as he had “breached the rules”.

Blake also alleged he witnessed Higgins cuddling young boys in their football kits on his sofa before he took them to training and he made “uncomfortable” sexual comments to him while alone in his car.

It is alleged that Higgins, 65, abused boys on football camps, in his car and at his home. He denies 50 counts of indecent assault against 24 boys. Blake is not one of the complainants.

Blake, who signed a professional contract with Southampton aged 18, told Salisbury crown court Higgins gave youngsters preferential treatment if they got close to him.

He said: “In some of the instances you would turn up at Bob’s house pre-training and see boys staying at his house. There was always a group of players that got closer to Bob.

“With him it was not just measuring your performances on the pitch, you would be measured on your time outside training, being at his house early, building a close relationship with him, being one of Bob’s boys.

“I would walk into his house and in the lounge would be one or two boys cuddling up to him in their football kits on the sofa.

“It was blatant cuddling, they would be encouraged to lay there close up – there was a number of lads cuddling him.”

Blake added: “In one instance I stayed over there, I was 14. I had a girlfriend at the time and it was made clear by Bob that having a girlfriend was not to be done – he said girls were a distraction.

“The rule was you should not have a girlfriend. I turned up with a love bite and went back with him to his house. It was about a 45-minute journey in his car and he spent the first 20 minutes talking about it.

“He told me because I breached the rules I was not going to be given any more opportunities at Southampton. He said ‘your career is over’. He said ‘football should be your whole focus’.”

Blake said: “I told him I would leave her so I could focus on the club and he started making sexual comments; he asked if I had any particular questions about sex.

“He tried to get me to cuddle up to him in the car, he had music on and made comments about sex. I felt uncomfortable. He had on Lionel Richie music.”

The trial continues.