A HAMPSHIRE jeweller who stood to lose £100,000 if Saints won the FA Cup has pledged to run the same gem of an offer next year.
Kim Rose, pictured in a Daily Echo Saints wig, had pledged to refund the price of diamond rings bought at his store in the run up to the final if Southampton triumphed against Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium.
In the event the London side lifted the cup and Kim, manager of Eclipse Jewellers in Southampton's city centre, breathed a sigh of financial relief.
But, as a devoted Saints fan, he keenly felt the downside of the 1-0 defeat. Kim, who was in the stands at the stadium, said: "I feel so sorry for the lads and everyone in the city.
"At the end of the game I was so emotional, I was in tears at the end.
"The money thing didn't come into it at all. Watching the team sat on the pitch as the Arsenal players went to get the cup was painful."
Kim pledged to repeat the offer next year and was adamant Saints would this time go one step further.
"Something inside me says we'll be back next season and I'll make this offer again, but this time we'll win it."
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