RUPERT LOWE yesterday insisted Saints will not be forced to sell their best players.

Lowe believes that Southampton are in a strong financial position after players took a 50 per cent wage cut. He said it would enable the club to survive the £15m drop in broadcast revenue following relegation.

Saints are still desperate to keep star striker Peter Crouch even though Liverpool have been strongly linked with a £5m bid for the 6ft 7in frontman.

Celtic are said to be keen on striker Kevin Phillips and keeper Antti Niemi. Niemi's agent Richard Cody has said that Niemi WILL leave Southampton over the summer - but the club say that will only happen if a fair price is received and the same goes for Phillips.

Former Southampton boss Gordon Strachan is said to be keen on taking the striker to Celtic but Saints say there has been no firm offer for either player - or for Claus Lundekvam, whose name has also been linked with a move to Celtic.

Lowe also knocked back reports linking Danny Higginbotham with a move to Middlesbrough or Rory Delap with a switch to Charlton or Fulham

He said: "We have not had any firm offers for any of them but it is inevitable that our players will now be linked with all sorts of moves.

"That is an automatic consequence of relegation, but it does not mean that we will have to sell them. We do not want to lose our best players - and the relegation clause in the contracts means we do not have to take what we are offered

"I think a lot of clubs have waited to see if we panic or if we have to sell but that is not the case. We may well lose a couple - but if we do then it will be on our terms."

Lowe also denied weekend reports linking Saints with Leicester goalkeeper Ian Walker, Cardiff defender Daniel Gabbidon, Swansea striker Lee Trundle, Darlington winger Jason St Juste and Leeds defender Ian Harte.

He said: "I don't know where those stories have come from but there is no truth in any of them."

THE RUPERT LOWE DEBATE - see the Sports pages of today's Daily Echo.