BOURNEMOUTH manager Eddie Howe watched Saints' disastrous defeat to Crystal Palace last night - but insists only 'huge money' would improve his squad.

Saints took the lead against Palace thanks to a rare Shane Long goal, but eventually lost 1-2.

The defeat leaves Southampton FC above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, while Cherries currently sit one point above them in 15th position.

Cherries are free to do business following the opening of the January transfer window but Howe has warned finding players to better his team is “almost impossible”.

He was at St Mary's although Cherries don't take on Palace until April 7 and Saints until April 28.

And he admitted spending big on his relegation-battling side offered “no guarantees”, while reiterating his faith in his current crop.

Asked if he had money available for signings, Howe said: “That’s a difficult one to answer. I think the board would always be supportive of me if I felt we desperately needed something.

“The problem I’d have is looking at players we could afford, who would be available and would make the team better. It’s a difficult mix when you put the those things together. To find those players is almost impossible.

“Where are you going to find a player who is going to improve our squad? How much money are you going to have to pay another club to find a player who is better than our players? You are talking huge money.

“That’s the difficult position we find ourselves in.

“Spending money in this market is incredibly difficult. There are no guarantees. You could spend a huge sum and not help the team whatsoever.

“I believe we have a good enough squad to survive without bringing anyone in. The only thing we have to consider is whether injuries are long term.”

Dutch star Virgil van Dijk on Monday completed a reported £75million move to Liverpool from Southampton – the highest fee paid for a defender in history.

The hefty price tag raised eyebrows in some quarters, prompting debate over how long football’s transfer fees could continue to rise.

“I don’t have the answer to that one,” said Howe. “People have been talking about a ceiling for a while. It was said back in the 1970s when Trevor Francis went for £1m that it could not keep going beyond that point and now here we are.

“It’s incredibly difficult to imagine how much more they can keep going up but while television revenue is so big and the worldwide appeal of the game is so huge and continues to develop, fees will only go up.

“It is imbalanced with the television money and if that revenue to the clubs went down, that’s the only time I can see transfer fees going down.”

Asked if rising sums were a concern, Howe added: “It’s been a worry for me since we got into the Championship and started to pay transfer fees I never thought this club would pay.

“But you have to join the party otherwise you will be left at home and way out of it. We have had to get involved.”

Cherries’ club-record signing is Dutchman Nathan Ake, who joined from Chelsea for £20million in the summer following a spell on loan in Dorset last season.