SAINTS fans were today demanding that the club comes clean over the Paul Sturrock affair.

They believe the veil of secrecy surrounding Sturrock's shock departure as manager yesterday is damaging the club and could spark plummeting attendances.

Saints recorded their lowest Premiership crowd for almost two seasons against Blackburn on Saturday and fans are now calling on chairman Rupert Lowe to shine some light on the situation. The club has so far refused to expand on yesterday's statement which said Sturrock left by "mutual consent".

Saints pointed to the pressures of Premiership management and "negative and unfair media coverage" as the catalyst for yesterday's events.

Sturrock, who took over from Gordon Strachan in March, was manager for just five months and 13 games. It is understood he had only recently bought a new family home in the area and moved in last week.

Meanwhile, former assistant manager Steve Wigley has been appointed as the new head coach.

Nick Illingsworth, editor of the Ugly Inside fanzine, said: "It is terrible what is going on. We lost almost 5,000 people on Saturday from last season and I worry that all this could affect attendances. Lowe needs to be brutally honest and say what he feels and explain why Sturrock went.

"If he doesn't, we are going to be made to look like a laughing stock."

Steve Godwin, chairman of the True Saints Association, said: "We urge the club to release more information as soon as possible and not keep fans in the dark.

"As the life-blood of the club, fans deserve to know the truth."

The editor of the Beautiful South fanzine, Daren Wheeler, backed calls for more information. He added: "They should be letting us know what is going on. The secrecy just adds to all the confusion and is harming the club. I think it is good to have someone like Lowe who is prepared to make decisions that are not necessary popular, but he should explain them."

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: CLICK THE POSTBAG LINK AND SEND US YOUR VIEWS ON PAUL STURROCK'S DEPARTURE.

Saints managerial seven-page special in tonight's Echosport