HASSAN KACHLOUL could be heading out of The Dell after chairman Rupert Lowe blasted the Moroccan's opening salvo in contract talks as "unreasonable."

Kachloul's agent was dismissed to think again by the Saints chairman, who insisted the club would not be held to ransom.

"His representative came in with a salary demand that is massively outside of our existing pay structure and we are not prepared to break that," Lowe told Saints' official website.

"These have been difficult negotiations and as things stand the demands are unrealistic.

"The matter rests with Hassan. It depends whether he is reasonable as to whether he stays with us," said Lowe, who admitted the opening gambit may have been a water-testing exercise on the part of Kachloul's agent.

"That is a possibility but, regardless of that, the club will make an offer which we think is fair and he will then decide if that is acceptable.

News that talks have hit snags will alert both Ipswich and Spurs, who are keen to sign Kachloul, with Lowe admitting that the Tractor Boys' interest has never waned since the player turned down a £1.8 million move back in the autumn.

If talks do collapse completely, it could affect the Saints asking price for a player who can get a free walk in the summer.

But Lowe insisted: "We are very keen for him to stay. He is a talented player and is rightly an important member of our squad.

"We want to be fair to the player and reward him for his continued efforts for us, but not at the cost of our structure, that would cause friction within the rest of the squad.

"He has to understand that we run ourselves on sustainable lines and that we are not prepared to get to the point where the bank manager decides who we can and cannot sign.

"We cannot pay the kind of salaries found at the top clubs. There are enough examples of clubs who have tried to pay these kind of wages and found themselves in deep financial trouble. I will not let that happen to Southampton."

l Former Saints boss Dave Jones is watching Matt Le Tissier's progress on the comeback trail carefully.

The Wolves manager admitted he is still a big fan of the talented England international - but insisted: "This is not a declaration of interest.

"He is one of the best players I have worked with ability-wise but he is not fit and he has been told by his manager that he has to get fit," said Jones who refused to rule out the possibility of trying to tempt Le Tissier to Molineux on loan.