Les Reed has moved to reassure Saints fans that the club’s board will fight to keep hold of their star players and manager.

The Saints director, who is in charge of football operations at St Mary’s, yesterday took the unusual step of addressing the media before Mauricio Pochettino’s scheduled weekly pre-match press conference ahead of today’s game against Everton.

He gave a passionate statement in which he slammed reports that big name players such as Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana were on the verge of agreeing huge money moves away from the club.

Reed insisted Saints hadn’t received a single enquiry for any of their stars. Shaw has long been linked to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, with Lallana repeatedly linked with United and Tottenham since breaking into the England international set-up earlier this season.

In addition, teenage full back Calum Chambers has been linked with Arsenal, where Bacary Sagna is out of contract in the summer.

Reed also reassured fans there would be no fire sale of top talent and that Pochettino would rubber-stamp any decisions to buy or sell players, with player recruitment high on their agenda as they plan for the future together.

He also addressed the situation regarding Pochettino’s contract by backing the manager’s stance that talks will take place after the end of the season.