Adam Leitch on the enigmatic Swede...

IF ANDERS SVENSSON does leave Saints this summer, it will be with a feeling that the fans never quite saw the best of him.

Svensson has proved a popular player with the Saints fans for his ability to pass and split defences.

But there's always been a feeling that the full talent within the player never came out in a Saints shirt.

It was there in flashes and odd runs of games, but the consistent form that so often promised didn't quite materialise.

That feeling largely stems from Svensson's performances at international level.

For Sweden, he was one of the stars of World Cup 2002 as well as other major international tournaments.

Each time he had been away to play for Sweden, after decent but not spectacular form for Saints, it seemed he excelled.

And no manager has ever quite worked out how to get the Anders Svensson of Sweden into the Saints team.

Part of the truth of it is that he has never really been given the role he plays for Sweden in this country.

Rather than playing withdrawn slightly behind the front two, with the ball always in at his feet and with a license to roam and create as he does for his country, he has had to fit into a far more rigid 4-4-2, as is the English way.

Stuart Gray brought him in but was sacked five months later and Svensson's floating style rarely fitted perfectly in Gordon Strachan's disciplined team approach - even though he was very much a regular during the successful 2002/03 campaign.

Paul Sturrock, a man who craved goals from his midfielders, seemed disappointed by Svensson's strikerate.

It was Steve Wigley, in his brief time in charge, that really seemed to get the best out of Svensson but, of course, the team was not successful.

Svensson admitted he was not always physical enough for the Premiership and the time on the ball he was afforded at Saints was certainly less than he would get at a top team.

But, in Svensson, almost every time he pulls on a Saints shirt and starts a game, you see something that makes you realise what a great player he is.

If he goes, Saints fans will never have seen him realise his full potential, though through no lack of effort.

And that will be so disappointing.