FORMER Saints director Keith Wiseman has revealed “a significant majority” of Rupert Lowe’s board wanted to bring Glenn Hoddle back to the club in 2004.

The Daily Echo’s exclusive story in February of that year that Hoddle would be interested in returning to Saints sparked a storm of protest from sections of the St Mary’s fanbase.

A portion of the supporters had never forgiven Hoddle for walking out of Saints in March 2001 to take up the manager’s job at Tottenham.

Hoddle had been sacked at White Hart Lane in September 2003 following, ironically, a 3-1 home loss to Gordon Strachan’s Saints.

Following Saints’ demise in recent years, there has always been the question that if Hoddle had come back then the club would never be in the position it now finds itself.

In many ways, it’s one of the pivotal moments of the last five years.

It’s obviously a hypothetical question to pose, but Wiseman admits most of the PLC board at the time wanted the former England manager back.

“It was a strange moment,” recalled Wiseman. “Rupert was convinced Glenn should come back and there was a significant majority on the board who backed him.

Unanimous verdict “Ian Gordon, Brian Hunt, myself and Paul Thompson all supported it.”

It is believed that Andrew Cowen – a long-time friend of Lowe’s going back to their school days together – voted against bringing Hoddle back.

Previously, Lowe had sometimes accepted a majority board decision on votes, but on the Hoddle one he would only accept an unanimous verdict.

Following the decision not to bring Hoddle back, Saints instead brought in former Scottish international Paul Sturrock following youth coach Steve Wigley’s two games in charge.

Sturrock had guided Plymouth to the League Two title in 2001/02 and had taken them to the top of League One in 2004/05.

At the time he fitted Lowe’s template of giving young, up and coming managers a break in the Premiership.

After all, Dave Jones was managing Stockport in what is now League One when he became Lowe’s first permanent managerial appointment in the summer of 1997.

And Stuart Gray was a coach at Saints when he was appointed Hoddle’s permanent successor after a period as caretaker boss in 2001.

Sturrock’s tenure lasted only 13 league games, of which five were won.

Just two games into the 2004/05 season he parted company with the club by mutual consent.

Not only did Saints have to pay Sturrock compensation, but also his coach Kevin Summerfield.

Lowe has taken criticism for appointing Sturrock and then parting company with him so quickly.

But Wiseman said: “I wouldn't blame Rupert for that one, it wasn’t a decision that was completely off the wall.

“Paul had a good record in the lower divisions – the same as someone like Darren Ferguson has now, and Dave Jones had when we brought him to the Dell from Stockport.

“Paul had a good pedigree.”

Though the PLC board agreed on Sturrock’s appointment, that wasn’t the case when the man nicknamed Luggy left.

Wiseman found out while listening to the radio that Wigley had been put in charge of first team affairs!