[citation needed] He was given the number 26 jersey for the duration of his loan period,[5] and made his debut on 14 January when coming on as a late substitute for Elliot Benyon in Southend's 5–2 victory at Northampton Town, where he gained an assist.
[9] On 11 October 2012, Sampson joined Accrington Stanley on a one-month loan deal to gain some more experience and to link up with former Bolton full back Leam Richardson who had been installed as manager that week.
[10] Despite Accringtons best efforts to keep him he returned to his parent club at the end of his loan spell in November 2012 after making 6 appearances to try and catch the eye of new manager Dougie Freedman who had been appointed during his absence.
[16] After the match, Manager Jim Bentley was impressed with Sampson's display at the start of the season and believed he deserved to score his first goal.
[21] However, Sampson struggled for first team opportunity behind Jack Redshaw, Kevin Ellison, Paul Mullin and Pádraig Amond before suffering a foot injury that kept him sidelined for a month.
[22][23] With his first team opportunities limited at Morecambe,[24] Sampson joined Macclesfield Town on loan until the end of the season.
[citation needed] Scoring nine times in his first year with Southport, it was Sampson' second season that proved to be the then 26-year-old's most productive campaign, bagging 16 goals in 33 games.