FINANCIAL experts agree that extending Saints' St Mary's stadium would be a risk without the certainty of regular sell-out crowds.

There are currently 21,000 season ticket holders, but chairman Rupert Lowe says the board would only consider extending the ground if they could be confident fans would regularly fill the spare seats.

Southampton Deloitte & Touche partner Stuart Woodward said: "By spending millions on making thousands of extra seats available, you run the risk of not being able to fill the ground to capacity.

"It's better to be in a position where demand just outstrips supply - better to have the ground full every week with people wanting to get in than lots of empty seats."

Ray Peacock, who is a member at Saints, said: "I try to get along to most games, but unless you are a season ticket holder it is becoming virtually impossible to guarantee a seat for the big matches, the likes of Manchester United.

"Not everyone can go to every singly game, so it can be a waste to shell out on a season ticket, but then you get caught out. There wouldn't be this problem if the ground was a bit bigger and I think they would continue to fill it."

He added: "Having said that you only have to look at teams that have gone down or who are now struggling to see you can quickly struggle to fill your stadium.

"All in all it's probably about right at the moment, although it can be frustrating."

Season ticket holder Marcus Reeves feels the time could be right for extending the stadium.

He said: "I'm constantly having friends ask me for tickets and I think the demand is there now. If we want to compete with clubs in the top ten, we could do with a bigger fan base and I feel Saints should probably strike now while the iron is hot."

One investment the club has made this summer, meanwhile, is the building of a new indoor training centre built at their Staplewood training ground.

Lowe said: "That is costing us quite a lot of money, but we think with the inclement weather last year it is necessary to have facility where people can train properly, especially if we get a very wet November like last year."

Manager Gordon Strachan added: "It will be good for everyone. The training pitch we couldn't use part of last season and it will be good for the kids at the academy as well."

Marian Pahars is today due for a scan to determine the extent of the groin strain he picked up during the Reserves' 2-0 defeat at Ipswich on Wednesday.

The Latvian lasted only 25 minutes of what was his third comeback game from a serious ankle injury.

Agustin Delgado has returned to Southampton for a check-up on his back after requiring surgery back home in Ecuador. He is unable to run, but is now working out on an exercise bike and hoping to return to fitness in two months.