SAINTS fan Ian Brennan says he would be honoured to sculpt a statue of Ted Bates outside St Mary's.

The Warsash-based dad of three has already sculpted a wooden maquette of Saints legend Bates, a miniature version of what the eight-foot bronze statue may look like.

And now he is likely to be commissioned for the task of immortalising the man who served the club for 67 years as player, coach, manager, director and president before passing away in November 2003.

He said: "I never had the pleasure of meeting the man but everyone in the area knows what he contributed to the club over many years and a statue outside the ground is a fitting way to remember him.

"To be immortalised in bronze is a huge honour for anyone, but there's no doubt that Ted Bates deserves it for what he achieved.

"I'm a Southampton man so it would be really nice to be asked to do a project like this in my home town. At the moment I'm working on a statue of Christ and I'd be delighted to sculpt another Saint!"

Dover-born Brennan has been a Saints fan for 30 years and spends three months a year working on commissions for the British royal household.

He has received 74 commissions from them in the last 15 years and some of his work is on display in St George's Chapel (www.sculptor-iangb.com).

The Ted Bates statue will stand outside St Mary's but the Ted Bates Trust want to keep pictures of the maquette under wraps before the unveiling of the £90,000 statue, which they hope will take place in November.

Brennan added: "Ted's widow Mary and his daughter Jo could not have been more helpful in the design of the maquette.

"I saw Ted plenty of times from a distance and I've seen other images of him. But Mary has been a great help. No one knows Ted better than his wife and she told me things like the sort of shoes he wore and how he held himself.

"The Saints historian David Bull also came up with lots of information and so far people seem happy with it. Mary Bates and her daughter are certainly both very flattered that this is being done."

The Ted Bates Trust hope to have raised £45,000 by May - they have currently raised about £1,200 - with the club willing to match any figure raised by the supporters.

There will be a bucket collection before the home game against Arsenal in two weeks' time, as well as a fundraising dinner and auction at St Mary's.

True Saints Association committee member Stephen Moore said: "People have rushed to donate to the tsunami appeal and rightly so, but that's made it a bit of a tricky start for us.

"Everyone knows what a magnificent job Ted did for the club. Ted was a people person so we want the whole community involved."

For more information, log on to www.tedbates.co.uk