THE start of last week saw me having the pleasure of accepting a cheque for £2,200 – but it was not connected with the event later in the week when I was asking, along with others, for money for the football club.

The first event was at Romsey Golf Club, where last year’s captain, Gloria Abrahmas, had in her year nominated the charity OTARS – a disability group in Southampton.

Among many other fundraising things, she actually jumped out of an aeroplane. I hasten to add she had a parachute and it was a wonderful thing from a lady who is the mother of Mark Abrahams, who does such a wonderful job with Saints in the Community.

The cheque will help towards the cost of sending competitors to take part in the Special Olympics in Leicester in July.

I was delighted to take part in my capacity as chairman of Special Olympics Great Britain.

The event later in the week at St Mary’s was the brainchild of Mike Osman. We enrolled Matt Le Tissier and Mike Channon with Mark Dennis joining for the second half.

It was an opportunity for the man on the terrace who can’t afford huge amounts, even though they would like to help their club which is in distress.

Some 500 people packed the Mike Channon suite and paid £20 a head but our idea was to give them something in return and the general opinion was it was a very enjoyable evening.

The first half was full of humour, leg pulling, nostalgia of the good sort and much much laughter.

After an interval, we had to draw attention to how serious the issue is at present.

Mike Osman and I the day before had been at the ground for what we thought would just be straightforward meeting about the running order of our event but we were joined by many others such as heads of department and also the administrator and Leon Crouch.

Mark Fry put everyone in the cold light of day in the picture and made everyone realise the position was much worse than any of us thought.

Events such as ours which would raise over £10,000 were really only scratching the surface.

Naturally, with the club having been advertised to be for sale at what will inevitably be a much reduced price, and in my opinion with the facilities etc a bargain, all the administrator could say was there were well over 30 enquiries so far with possibly a small number of them to be taken seriously.

But at present that was the only information he could give.

Presumably he is full time providing the necessary documents and information as requested and following up with interviews.

There are obviously different areas here.

Mark Fry was presumably called in initially because the holding company went into administration.

The supporters and others such as Mike Channon in particular wanted more information about the situation of the football club.

The difficulty I assume is that the club has not got to be seen to be going under in the eyes of the League whilst we have still got three games left to play and are clinging on at the moment to the law that says ten points cannot be deducted if it is the holding company in trouble as opposed to the club itself.

It is difficult therefore, and I am sure Mark Fry understands, for people to be asked for donations and turning up as they did the other day without knowing exactly how much is needed and where it is needed as they would like to see a list of debtors etc.

None of us to my knowledge have ever been in this position before and many questions are being asked and I for one find it difficult to have the answer to too many of them except to say that it isn’t as simple as waiting for a buyer to come along.

There has got to be funding provided to fill the gap between now and then to enable the football club to still be around to be bought in the summer.

Then of course there is the thing that we should normally all be talking about – the football, the team, the league position.

Last Saturday was another terrific turn out, the players reacted with a good win.

Wolverhampton was all over after the first five minutes and I couldn’t believe my eyes sitting there as two corners and a penalty went in – and how often now do we see set-pieces deciding games?

But the Watford game was much better and Graham Taylor, a nonexec director there, contacted me a couple of days after that game saying the least we deserved was a point and he felt we were much the better team on the night.

In his opinion, there are others down there who would be more deserving of being relegated.

However, realism hits in when you look that we only have two away games and one at home to come.

We have of course done better away from home this season and I am sure we will have some terrific support yet again at Sheffield and Forest.

It has become like a record now to ask and really beg for a full house on the last home game.

I keep remembering the Sheffield United game last season when they as well needed to win to get in the play-offs.

On the day, the crowd won it for Saints.

Burnley might not be the decisive fixture but either way it could effect the future of the club – so please roll up again and uncross the fingers long enough to clap your hands loudly enough to lift the team once more.