LIFELONG Saints fan Peter Rowe has first hand experience of suffering administration.

After growing up watching Saints play at the Dell in the late 1960s and 1970s, he was chief executive of Swindon Town when the Wiltshire club were in administration back in 2000.

Now resident in Australia, Rowe, pictured, contacted the Daily Echo to recall memories of a turbulent time at the County Ground.

And he also has a few words of advice for Pinnacle should their protracted takeover go through.

“I have been watching things from afar on the Echo website,”

said Rowe.

“And I’ve been thinking ‘what the hell’s going on there?

“I’ve seen what being in administration means from a first hand angle, and it’s so frustrating.

“The situation can go on for months. I think Swindon were in administration for six months when I was there, I actually joined the club when they were in administration.

“I ended up working with both hands tied behind my back before we exited administration.

“Whenever you had a bill to pay, even something as minor as the electricty bill, you had to go upstairs to get the approval of the administrator to sign it.

“The very last bill that was paid before we could exit administration was the administrator’s own bill, and that was something like £900,000.

“Administrators don’t come cheap.

“The administrator at Saints will be frustrated because he will just want to sell the club – while he doesn’t, he is responsible for all the debts. He will just want to sell the club and see his fees paid.”

Like all Saints supporters, Rowe just wants the takeover completed.

“Pinnacle are playing a dangerous game of bluff with the Football League,” he said.

“I was director of communications for the Football League before I went to Swindon, so I can see things from different angles.

“The new owners will need a good five year business plan which must be realistic.

“They must also be realistic in not expecting promotion in the first year.

“The plan must not rely purely on making money from football – they have to use the stadium for concerts and for conferences.

“The club they are buying comes with a multi million pound asset attached to it in the form of the stadium, and it needs to be used.

“The new owners will need to embark on a massive PR exercise to try and win the trust of the fans back.

“They will be working 24/7 but that’s the adrenaline buzz that comes from running a football club.

“They will need to get the supporters onside, and everything else will fall into place after that.

“With good marketing they should be looking to sell 15,000 season tickets and attract crowds of around 20,000.

“Saints are still a big club, regardless of the division they are now in.”

Football League clubs are allowed to be in administration for a maximum of 18 months.