RUPERT LOWE is giving Steve Wigley and newly appointed first-team coach Christian Damiano until the end of the season to prove they are the future for Saints.

Despite the team's current position in the bottom three, the Saints chairman plans to give the new coaching structure time to turn around results which have been flagging ever since last Christmas.

Lowe said: "This is the management team which will finish the season with Steve in charge and Christian working alongside him.

"I would like to call on all our supporters to get behind the formula we have in place."

Although he appears to have all the responsibilities of recent predecessors Paul Sturrock and Gordon Strachan, Wigley will retain the title of 'head coach' rather than the traditional description of 'manager'.

Damiano, who joins club stalwart Dennis Rofe as a first-team coach, has a contract which expires at the end of the season - leaving Lowe free to restructure things again if he decides the current arrangement is not working.

"Christian is contracted until the end of the season," said Lowe.

"We hope that if everyone gets along well we will be able to extend that as we get towards the end of this year or maybe early next year.

"We don't like to be committed to things, we like to do them when everyone is comfortable with them.

"We prefer to only talk about things when we have done them, which is what we have done.

"Too often in football, people like to talk about things that very often they know nothing about."

The possibility in the future of some sort of role for World Cup-winning rugby boss Sir Clive Woodward remains real, but that could only happen next summer after he leads the British Lions on their tour of New Zealand.

For now, Wigley will head a first-team coaching set-up alongside Rofe and Damiano, with Saints stressing they are not planning to make any further appointments.

Lowe explained: "Ultimately Steve will make the decisions about the team selection, but in any football situation you do need the support of a lot of people whether that is with regard to coaching, tactics, additions with new players or judging whether young players are capable of making contributions.

"We are a family club, we rely on a team effort and we have now assembled a strong team both in the academy and now with the first-team we have a team who will work together who collectively are stronger than just one person."

Of recent reports saying Lowe had been in secret talks with former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, the Saints chairman added: "There is no truth in that at all. I have not had talks with Houllier. That is complete rubbish."