Dark times could await Saints

That is expected to start with the club’s shares being suspended, a move which was confirmed to the London Stock Excchange this morning, and it may quickly snowball from there.

Throughout the intervening months since Rupert Lowe’s return to the club as PLC chairman he has said on numerous occasions his best may not be good enough to stave off administration and it looks increasingly as though it may prove that way.

At the forefront of the minds of many fans is what will happen to the team as Mark Wotte tries to lead them to Championship safety.

The normal circumstances should a team enter administration is that they face a ten point penalty.

As it is after the Football League deadline to take an automatic ten point hit this season, it would normally apply if the club finishes less than ten points above the relegation zone or if not then the following season.

However, there is some suggestion that if Saints’ parent company Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC goes into administration but the football club itself does not then it could potentially be avoided.

The rulings on this are very much a grey area but one football business expert told the Daily Echo: “It could be the case that the holding company goes into administration and not the football club. It is normally the holding company that holds the debt.

“It’s hard to be sure of an exact ruling but it could be that there is an argument to avoid a ten point deduction.”