RUPERT Lowe said it is vital Saints get back on a sustainable financial footing or else risk going the same way as Luton Town after revealing the extent of the club's cash woes.

Despite receiving more than £12m in transfer fees, the club's parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings, is expected to report a pre-tax loss of about £5m for the year ending June 30.

The club is also expecting to announce a 35 per cent drop in income, to £14m - Pompey made nearly £17m last season from TV money and league position alone.

Click here to watch a video interview with Rupert Lowe

The audited accounts are due to be released in October, but Lowe said the club had chosen to provide an earlier indication to reduce the impact it could have on fortunes on the pitch.

Since returning to the club this summer, PLC chairman Lowe said he and football club chairman Michael Wilde had been forced into "difficult decisions" when it came to the club's finances.

He described the way the club had been run over the past year as "unsustainable" and said had it remained unchecked the future would have been very grim.

He pointed to Luton Town, who have now dropped into League Two and will start the season on minus 30 points after going into administration, as an example of what can happen.

"You can't speculate, but if you take an example of a club that has run out of road you only have to look as far as Luton," he said.

Full story in today's Daily Echo