SAINTS chairman Rupert Lowe has warned boss Paul Sturrock: "The honeymoon period is over - now you must deliver."

The Saints supremo was reacting to weekend speculation that Sturrock will have only a handful of games in 2004/05 to prove he is up to managing in the Premiership.

But Lowe dismissed as "poppycock" suggestions that he was ready to dismiss his manager so he could call on former boss Glenn Hoddle to take charge for a second spell.

Hoddle was strongly tipped to move back to St Mary's when Gordon Strachan quit in February.

But there was an outcry from irate fans - still seething at the way Hoddle walked out on Saints to join his beloved Spurs in March 2001 - and Lowe opted for Sturrock instead.

Now Lowe has made it clear he wants Sturrock to ensure Saints step up from the mid-table security they have enjoyed over the past few years to become regular challengers for a European place.

He said: "This is a results driven business, and Paul has to deliver results. But that can be said of every manager in the league.

"All managers have to deliver, that is what they are there for. Paul now has the chance to show what he can do. But the honeymoon period is over because the new season starts in a few days' time."

Lowe insists Saints have the base from which to launch themselves towards the often talked about 'next level'. "We are now a big club, not the biggest in the Premiership but certainly not the smallest," he outlined.

"We have quality players, an excellent stadium that is full with supporters for every home game, and a great youth policy.

"We have added three new players in the summer and lost only Agustin Delgado, who hardly played at all last season.

"So success can be achieved, the raw materials are there.

"We are in a very strong position and have the advantage of some very good young kids coming through."

Lowe added: "I never set targets, but we need to finish as high as we can - I would like us to be first. If you aim high then hopefully you finish high. If we don't finish top then we want a Champions League place.

"And if we don't manage that then we have to look at the UEFA Cup, although I know this is a very difficult league to compete in."

Sturrock quit Plymouth to take charge of Saints last March. He won three out of his first four games in charge but, hit by a mounting injury list, gained only one more win in the last seven matches of 2003/04.

Since Sturrock's arrival, there have been tabloid-fuelled rumours of unrest among players, but Lowe insisted: "I do not know where these stories are coming from, I have heard nothing like that."