[3] Transferred nearer home for a fee of £250, Whitbread's 29 goals helped Runcorn to the Northern Premier League title in the 1975–76 season.
[4] After scoring 181 career goals for Runcorn, he joined Altrincham in 1979 for a club record fee of £6,400.
[5][6] Whitbread trained as a teacher before moving into football management, having gained his coaching qualifications while still a player.
[9] On his return to England he worked at Liverpool's Youth Academy, becoming head of recruitment, a post he held until 2007.
[12] His son Zak, born in Houston, Texas, while Whitbread was working in the US, became a professional footballer after developing in the Liverpool academy.