“Go on Jeff,” chirped FC St Helens manager Michael Smith as he called for Jefferson Montero to get warm 25 minutes from time - just two minutes more than he was afforded when he made his Swansea City debut in a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, more than 10 years ago.

FC St Helens were heading to three points as they led Charnock Richard 4-1. There were cheers from the bench, while play continued, as spectators around the dugout applauded as the 35-year-old got up off the wooden bench to step up his preparations.

An Ecuadorian media outlet, perched to the left of the dugout and between the respective clubs' cameras, scrambled to prepare their equipment to follow Montero down the touchline before he received his final instructions from the Stripes manager.

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Wearing the number 17, with a red base layer pulled over his hands, Montero breathed air into them in an attempt to thaw his hands before rubbing them together.

“Ready for a goal?” the physio joked as she prepared the change, while the assistant referee pounced on the opportunity to try his Spanish with the Ecuadorean.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United and now Charnock Richard can be added to the list of clubs that the 35-year-old has faced during his playing career.

And the headlines nearly wrote themselves when Connor Spiers’ effort across the face of goal squirted up to Montero, who looked to make it a memorable debut with an overhead kick - only to get his effort horribly wrong.

Embracing the Ecuador invasion

Driving into St Helens, down Greenfield Road, on the other side of the terraced houses on the one-way street there was the latest chapter in the ambiguous chronicles of non-league as the former Premier League footballer Montero made his debut in the ninth tier (North West Counties Premier Division).

In January, the 35-year-old born in Babahoyo, Ecuador hit the headlines when he swapped South America’s west coast for the reigning NWC First Division North champions.

Media attention followed with local radio and national television descending on the SMS Pro Soccer Stadium to see how a club that was merely founded 11 years ago - when Montero was still playing top-flight football for the Swans - could attract a player that has scored against Spanish great Iker Casillas.

And after two games in the cold, he was afforded the opportunity for his first time on Saturday (February 1) in the matchday squad as FC St Helens looked to end their run of four straight defeats.

Turning up with a Starbucks in-hand and an ear pod in his left ear, there were high-fives all around as he was one of the last to arrive.

There were murmurs of a possible fine for the 35-year-old after he made his way into the clubhouse without wearing the red training jacket. He promptly returned, after a scramble for the garment, whether he avoided internal action from the leadership team within the squad remains to be seen.

The club were keen not to waste the opportunity - commemorative Montero mugs on sale in the bar as well as small, medium and large Ecuador flags around the ground. A bumper crowd of 324 was in attendance, their highest of the campaign and 80 more than their previous high against local rivals Pilkington.

And it wasn’t just the surrounding area that captured the attention, on the morning of the match two supporters from Barcelona and Valencia respectively made the flight to the North West.

The attention didn’t stop there as a family of three, proudly displaying the flag, managed a chat with the attacker through the metal mesh at the side of the dugouts.

It wasn’t long before the star of the afternoon had his own chant from some of the younger supporters but they were forced to wait for his bow.

And although the expectant crowd had to sit tight for Montero, they were treated to an incident-packed encounter which saw a red card for both sides, as well as one of the visiting coaching staff - who was sent off in the first-half following his protests after a contentious goal was deemed over the line.

Despite a spirited fightback, the hosts eventually ran away with it - ending their four-match losing run.

'My family ask all the time, 'play again''

Publicity stunts, failed player-coach roles and an influx of former professional footballers are just some of the stories that capture the imagination in the depths of the English football league pyramid, these days.

There is a different undertone to Montero’s return to the British Isles five years after a 14-game loan spell with Birmingham City.

In the build-up to the match, children were spotted wearing Club Deportivo Tumbaco AV25 shirts, the club he last played for, with ‘Jeff Montero 10’ on the back.

And his family are a big reason why he decided to lace up his boots once again, some six months after a 19-minute cameo in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito - in a penalty shootout exit to Emelec in the Copa Ecuador.

"The biggest thing is my family, my kids and my friends," says Montero. "They watched the game today, it’s very important for me.

"This [return to football] is special for my family because all the time (they say), ‘play again, Jeff come, Dad play again, please Dad we need you to play again,’ that’s why it’s so special to me.”

The humbleness radiates from the attacker, who has shared the pitch with some of global football’s biggest and best players, as he shrugs off coming off the bench and emphasises he’s happy to follow the orders of the manager.

Montero is revered for causing havoc down the left for Arsenal defender Calum Chambers as a raw, unpolished South American winger in 2014, at the then-Liberty Stadium for Swansea. But 11 years on, now 35, he has his sights on creating memories on the pitch for his family to remember in the red and white of FC St Helens.