FORMER Saints caretaker boss Dave Bassett has insisted Rupert Lowe did not interfere with team selection while he was at the club.

Bassett was a coach at St Mary’s during Harry Redknapp’s tenure at the club.

He also took charge on an interim basis, with Dennis Wise, after Redknapp left in December 2005.

Listen to the full interview here. It begins about 50 seconds into the clip.

Some fans suggested Bassett had claimed, during an appearance on talkSPORT radio on Monday night, that Lowe interfered with picking the team.

But Bassett last night denied that was the case.

“I didn’t mean to give that impression and I don’t think I did,” he told the Daily Echo.

“My point was that when Rupert was there, he was always keen that we played the youngsters.

“But he never picked the team, Harry always picked the team he wanted – Harry wouldn’t have had that for a start.”

Bassett did say he was critical of Lowe appointing former England rugby coach Clive Woodward as performance director.

He added he felt more money should have been spent on the team, rather than on the academy and training facilities, while the team was struggling in the Premiership.

But he added Redknapp had also been supported by Lowe in the signings of Nigel Quashie, Olivier Bernard and Henri Camara during the 2004/05 season.

A club spokesman said: “Harry Redknapp went on record after the transfer window closed expressing his delight at our dealings in the transfer window and stating that he was very confident of our chances of avoiding relegation.”

A full transcript of the discussion between Bassett and talkSPORT host Danny Kelly is printed below.

Transcript

As compiled directly from a recording from talkSPORT - Listen to the full interview here. It begins about 50 seconds into the clip.

Danny Kelly (asking a fan’s question): I believe that Southampton will go down from the Championship because the players are too young. They are all good players, but at this level it is very hard going. Also the manager appears to have no idea what it takes in English football. What is Dave’s view?

Dave Bassett: I was there with Harry Redknapp, I was Harry’s coach and that when I was there. I mean Southampton, it is a problem for them, they are very young, they have got some talented players, people like Surman I think is a good player, they are young players, but for me it is a problem for them. But it is something that Rupert Lowe, when I was there, and he always wanted Harry Redknapp to play the kids. It was something that him and Clive Woodward went on and on and on about.

Kelly: But that’s partially because of financial reasons isn’t it. Of course they have made their living for the past 20 years Southampton selling their best players.

Bassett: That’s right, that’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with that ...

Kelly: No, no of course not.

Bassett: They have produced some very good kids, I mean Theo Walcott ...

Kelly: Gareth Bale.

Bassett: Gareth Bale, I mean no one is disputing that and it is one of those things. But with the youngsters they have got I have seen them a couple of times, they have played some excellent football, they are very good, but defensively they are extremely naïve, and you can see opposition scoring against them.

Kelly: When managers use that word naïve Dave what do you mean by that? It’s a shorthand, I know it’s a professional shorthand, what do you mean by naïve?

Bassett: Well they’re not experienced, they make errors, they make schoolboy errors basically, like we saw Wimbledon guy here do that. Young players do that, they are learning, and when they are learning, unless they have got experienced players with them who can help them it becomes a problem, because they have no one to look around to. As I say, Southampton will have some good results and they will beat some teams, but they are going to be one of the teams that are vulnerable down there because defensively they aren’t good enough. I think possibly the manager there has been told the remit is to play the kids. They’ve let people like Stern John, Rasiak go out on loan...

Kelly: Yeah.

Bassett: Now obviously the club may say that we can’t afford their wages, well, unfortunately the club have not taken the opportunity when they were in the transfer (mumbles) chance of going down and Harry Redknapp was the manager – you know, Harry should have been supported more at that particular time. We’ve seen what’s happened, he left West Ham, he’d stayed Portsmouth up, and you know you can look at it. So the Southampton fans will, I think, think you know, if we had let Harry get on with the job he could have put Southampton back in the Premier League and I believe that.

Kelly: Whatever about how close the Premier League relegation race is, the Championship we know the top team can beat the bottom team and the bottom team can beat the top team any week. And the thing about that is it’s to do with age as well isn’t it. The youth of the Southampton team, they’re not physically developed quite some of them. I’ve looked at them, they’ve got teenagers in that team, in that division it’s a slog isn’t it?

Bassett: It’s a very hard slog I mean you can see the amount of goals they concede, I mean ...

Kelly: Dave, there’s been, I’m sorry, there’s been another goal at Kingsmeadow – AFC Wimbledon against Wycombe in the FA Cup first round – Andy Clark ...

Listen to the full interview here. It begins about 50 seconds into the clip.