SAINTS are set to visit Switzerland once again as part of their pre-season preparations.

The Daily Echo understands that the first-team squad will jet off to the home of the club’s late owner Markus Liebherr for the second year in a row, as they tune up for a return to the Championship.

League One runners-up Saints went on a pre-season tour to Switzerland last summer, playing friendly matches against FC Thun and French side Sochaux.

Former manager Alan Pardew was in command at that stage, but it will be Nigel Adkins , at the helm for this year’s trip.

It promises to be a poignant return to Switzerland for the club, as it will be the first time they have visited the country since the death of Liebherr, who passed away in August 2010.

Last year’s tour was one of the last times that the German-born Swiss national got to see his side in action.

This summer’s trip will form an important part of Adkins’ preparations for Saints’ first season back in the Championship, and will be a good opportunity for some team bonding ahead of the new campaign.

The club’s pre-season preparations are now beginning to really take some shape.

Friendly matches against West Brom, at St Mary’s, on Wednesday July 27, and away to Yeovil, on Saturday, July 30, had already been confirmed.

And the club is expected to announce its Swiss trip soon, once the final details have been ironed out.

Saints yesterday also unveiled a brand new pre-season tournament, which will be held in honour of Liebherr.

The inaugural Memorial Cup, which will now become an annual event, will be held at St Mary’s on Saturday, July 23.

The mini triangular tournament will feature a Premier League side and some “top”

La Liga opposition, according to the club’s official website.

It will act as a tribute to Liebherr, with Saints saying the day will honour “the love and passion that he had for Saints”.

It will also be the debut of the club’s highly-anticipated new home kit for the 2011/12 campaign, which is still to be unveiled.

The sides will play three round-robin matches, with the games lasting 45 minutes.

Any tie that ends in a draw will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Teams will be awarded three points for a win in normal time, two for a victory on spot kicks, and one for a defeat on penalties, with nothing for a loss in regulation.

The other clubs taking part will be confirmed next Wednesday, while ticket details will be revealed in due course.

Saints are yet to announce if the Ted Bates Trophy will be competed for this summer.

The silverware, introduced during the 2003/04 campaign, was not presented after Saints’ only pre-season home friendly last August, against Reading.