Les Reed has today claimed that Nathaniel Clyne could yet snub Manchester United and sign a new contract with Saints, but would he have been better to to keep quiet.

Saints fans remember similar protestations from Reed last year when Les Reed claimed that the club would not be selling its stars and that contract negotiations were at advanced stages, the proof was in the pudding and an exodus from the club prompted some to claim it was in meltdown, so when Les Reed is interviewed and makes claims about players staying he might be wise to remember a year ago.

Talking to TalkSport about Clyne penning a new deal Reed said.

“We’re in constant communication"

“These contract negotiations are never just one meeting, where everything is done and sorted out.

“You have to bear in mind, especially with Nathaniel, that we want him to focus on the last few games of the season. That’s why you’ll get players saying, ‘let’s wait until the end of the season’.

“That’s quite normal and he’s very happy. He’s managed to force himself into the England squad and is showcasing his talents.

“I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t speculation about him, but at the moment the signs are good.”

On one hand these are words that Saints fans want to hear and certainly Reed's reputation is a lot higher than a year ago when initially he appeared a little caught by surprise by the events that suddenly escalated after the end of the season, given what happened it might be the case that silence might be better at this time rather than trying to force a situation through, stating deadlines to sign contracts in the press isnt the best way forward and can as we found last year leave us with egg on our face, indeed we appear no nearer signing Jay Rodriguez toa new deal than we were 12 months ago when we announced he had been offered it.

Photo: Action Images

Bulgarian added 20:03 - Apr 28 IMO this is an astute PR approach showing that the Board has learned its leson from the previous year - and nothing more. Of course, common sense tells us that NK and MS will part ways with us. But the aim of such interviews is to show the world that the Board controlls the situation rather than expecting negative media bombardment on a daily basis. The Escape Route? It's even easier than we could expect: "X (Y, Z) made it absolutely clear that he wanted out of SFC, so we were left without a choice" (... but with a good amount of money). Saints never losing the right direction!

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WestSussexSaint added 20:38 - Apr 28 Les' record shows he is better at recruiting players than retaining them. I expect NC, MS and possibly JRod to leave in the summer but as long as we get top dollar for them then Les can do his thing and bring in their replacements.
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bstokesaint added 21:50 - Apr 28 Can't help but feel Reed is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. It's a tough position for him to be in. That said if we could retain MS, JR or NC then it would certainly do his reputation some good. We certainly can't afford a summer this year like the last one. I feel we got a little bit lucky, and this wouldn't always be the case.
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SanMarco added 22:41 - Apr 28 Presumably with Clyne there is the little matter of the exact fee Man Utd will pay - perhaps Les is angling for another million or two with the 'no done deal' talk. Obviously NC and MS are going and if we can get good money for JRod then we should let him go. That needs to be it for 'unwanted' departures (apart from Toby of course but then he is not really here anyway).

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simmo400 added 09:04 - Apr 29 Same old talk as was last year. Positive talk is the norm while season tickets are up for re-newal we all know this. One thing we know this time is that its not the end if we sell are so called best players, this gives others a chance to shine. The Club will go on dosent matter if some go chasing their dreams but beware the grass isnt always greener but the CASH will be in the bank.

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SaintBrock added 09:37 - Apr 29 Lots of cynicism around here for obvious reasons but is anybody really in for Clyne or is it all press speculation, after all he's not been playing that well lately? Les Reed doesn't need to say anything so he may actually know something we don't. Silence is golden however and in my opinion he was ill advised to comment on such a sensitive issue at this time as it serves no useful purpose politically. You could also read into his intervention that Morgan will NOT stay and that will be by far our biggest loss this summer. Toby is a special case about which we can do very little. All the others are replaceable

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aceofthebase added 22:03 - Apr 29 This summer if we do lose three or four 'star' players we do have a squad that could give a good account of itself. Our loss of players would swell Saints bank and I'm sure with a couple of well chosen replacements we will have another successful and enjoyable season. Was it just nine months ago that vile comments were aimed at the ownership, the board and particularly Les Reed. I do hope we don't have repitition of that attitude. COYRs

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