The 2008/09 season was probably the most traumatic in the history of Southampton Football Club's history but it could have been far worse.

Most Saints fans will not remember the 2008/09 season very fondly, not only was the club lurching towards administration after a couple of years of financial mismanagement, but Rupert Lowe had returned as Chairman and was being seen by many as bringing in unknown Dutch managers on the cheap, however there was one silver lining of that season and that was the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin, however as ex Saints manager Mark Wotte has now revealed he very nearly left the club in its darkest hour.

In an article in the Daily Mirror Wotte claims that only his intervention stopped Schneiderlin demanding a move as the Club prepared for its first season in the third tier of English football in almost half a century.

Wotte, Schneiderlin's manager in the second half of his debut Southampton season, said:

"I remember one of my last conversations with him before Markus Liebherr took over the club and Alan Pardew came in.

"He was desperate to leave when we got relegated (to League One in 2009) and I said 'this is the best thing that could happen to you.

"'Technically, ability, attitude, awareness you are fine, you just need to become more physical and athletic.

"'Get 40, 50 games in League One and feel the benefit. Southampton will get back up and there will always be a club that will pick you up'.

"I think after that conversation he decided to stay put instead of pushing for a transfer."

Schneiderlin, who now admits his Football League years shaped his career, developed from a €1m to £24m player in seven years at Southampton.

Wotte, part of Southampton's management team before he became first team coach in January 2009 after the sacking of Jan Poortvliet said:

"It was Rupert Lowe who did the deal with Strasbourg based on his contacts in France.

"He deserves every credit. To get a £24m return on a €1m investment is fantastic."

Signing Schneiderlin meant Saints already having to slash costs to stay afloat and having to rely on what were basically youth team players plus Paul Wotton on a free transfer to bolster a threadbare first team squad didn't have the funds to land a 16 year-old Christian Eriksen for a similar fee.

But Wotte, currently one of Sky's Dutch football experts, said:

"We said that Schneiderlin, Andrew Surman and Adam Lallana would be the ones who would make us money in the future.

That has certainly been the case and although Rupert Lowe is certainly the man Saints fans love to hate, it has to be said that in 1999 he revamped the club youth team system and scouting network, a system that although has produced many great players in the 1950's 60's 70's and 80's had dried up in the 90's .

It was back in the early part of the 2000's that a lot of the payers who would go on to command big fee's joined as schoolboys some as young as 8 and that was built on, as anyone connected to a professional club will tell you, you never really find out how good your youth team scouting set up is to a decade later when the 8 year olds that as picked up in one season are 18 and it is becoming apparent just how good they are.

Some people will not want to give Rupert Lowe any credit, certainly there are a lot of things he could have done differently, but ultimately history will treat him kinder than it will Nicola Cortese in the story of this great club.

Photo: Action Images

Ali_Diarea added 00:04 - Sep 18 Great article, I totally agree. Let's not forget that Lowe moved us into St Mary's and would anyone really have considered buying us had we been in league 1 and still playing at The Dell? I think not! I also have to add that Lowe would have brought Hoddle back in our hour of need but a large section of our supporters chose to cut of their nose to spite their face. The last word has to go to Graham Souness though "how many chairmen of football clubs are called 'Rupert'?!"

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Hugh_Jarce added 20:56 - Sep 18 All true - a much maligned CEO who put a lot of foundations in place which NC built on. RL was never going to be a popular guy with his City background and accent. And he made many mistakes but in hindsight there were many positives too
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