Managers come and go in a remarkable 12 months at St Mary's...

January 2004

Gordon Strachan announces he will be leaving Saints at the end of the season. During the month the club only win once - 2-1 at home to a Leeds side who will end the season being relegated.

They are also thrashed 3-0 at home by Newcastle in the FA Cup third round.

February 2004

The Daily Echo reveals, via agent Dennis Roach, that Glenn Hoddle WOULD be interested in making a controversial return to the club he walked out on less than three years previously.

The news is greeted with anger by sections of the St Mary's faithful.

Strachan resigns on Friday 13, two days after his last game in charge saw Saints lose 2-0 at champions-elect Arsenal.

Steve Wigley is appointed caretaker boss and draws his two matches in charge - 3-3 at home to Everton and 1-1 at Blackburn.

The Echo reveals that Rupert Lowe WAS planning to bring Hoddle back, but changed his mind after his boad were split over the ex-England coach's return and also due to the fans' outrage.

March 2004

On the same morning that Hoddle publicly withdrew his name from the managerial race to replace Strachan, it emerged that Lowe was in talks with Paul Sturrock, the Scotsman who had guided Plymouth from the lower reaches of the old Fourth Division to the top of the old Second Division.

Sturrock wins his first match in charge, 2-0 at home to Liverpool in front of the Sky TV cameras.

But Saints perform dismally in losing his second, also on Sky, at Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth. Pompey use the victory - their first home league derby win for over 40 years - as the catalyst for a late-season run that sees them escape the relegation zone. Michael Svensson is injured in the pre-match warm-up at Fratton and hasn't played since.

April 2004

As an injury crisis digs in, Saints are inconsistent - winning 4-1 at Wolves and 3-1 at Manchester City but losing 3-1 at Middlesbrough and 2-1 at home to Bolton, ex-Saint Kevin Davies scoring the winner.

May 2004

Saints finish 12th in the Premiership, four places lower than in 2002/03, with Pompey one behind.

June/July 2004

Sturrock brings in Peter Crouch, Mikael Nilsson and Jelle Van Damme as his main pre-season signings.

August 2004

With the national media full of stories regarding dressing room unrest at St Mary's, Saints begin the season losing 2-0 at Aston Villa.

A last-minute James Beattie penalty sees them beat Blackburn 3-2 in the second match. After the game Lowe insists 'the media don't run the club' - but Sturrock leaves two days later with Lowe claiming the media were part of the problem! In all, Sturrock was in charge for 13 league matches, five of which were won and six lost.

Wigley is again promoted and placed in charge of team affairs - this time, to the surprise of the fans, until the end of the season. Saints lose 2-1 at home to Bolton in Wigley's first game in charge.

Fitz Hall is sold to Crystal Palace for £1.5m, but Saints fans are unhappy the club let him go so easily. Andreas Jakobsson is signed as a replacement for £1m.

September 2004

Wigley records his first win as Saints head coach at League Two outfit Northampton in the Carling Cup.

October 2004

Birmingham and Manchester City both gain goalless draws at St Mary's before Saints come within seconds of shocking Arsenal at Highbury. During the month the club again fail to win in the league but only lose once - to a last minute goal at Everton on a day when they are forced to reshuffle due to an injury crisis which sidelines all the regular back four and all the senior strikers.

In the Carling Cup Saints come from behind to beat League One outfit Colchester 3-2 with 18-year-old Dexter Blackstock becoming the first Saints sub in history to score a hat-trick - his first senior goals.

November 2004

What is dubbed 'Crunch November' given a run of, on paper, easier fixtures sees Saints held to dismal 2-2 home draws by West Brom and Crystal Palace and lose 2-1 at the third promoted team, Norwich, who hadn't previously won in the league all season.

Saints are also humiliated 5-2 at Championship side Watford in the Carling Cup, but fans' anger is somewhat placated by Wigley's first Premiership win at the 11th attempt - ironically, 2-1 against Redknapp's Pompey!

Redknapp, the Premiership's manager of the month for October, fails to see out November as he resigns along with assistant Jim Smith after Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric brings in Yugoslavian Velemir Zajec as an executive director. Gordon Strachan distances himself from reports linking him to Fratton Park.

December 2004

Saints start the month by failing to muster a single shot on target during a 3-0 loss at Old Trafford, leaving Wigley with just nine points from 14 top flight matches.

Hoddle is suddenly announced as Wolves boss on the same day Redknapp is believed to end up at St Mary's locked in talks with Lowe.