SAINTS stand on the verge of a mammoth £3.5m windfall if they can end their 27-year wait for FA Cup glory.

The club have already banked over £1.5m from winning through four rounds of the tournament.

Saints have scooped £675,000 from the FA in prize money so far, including £400,000 for beating Wolves at St Mary's in the sixth round.

They have also received £795,000 from television for three live matches - Tottenham, Millwall (away) and Wolves.

Now they stand just 90 minutes away from another jackpot.

Though there are no cash prizes available for winning or losing in the semi-final, the FA Cup winners bank a cool £2m and the runners-up £1m.

Fans preparing for Saints' first FA Cup semi for 17 years against First Division Watford will hope some of that money goes to boss Gordon Strachan for summer signings.

Especially as Strachan has indicated that he wants to add to his existing firepower.

And also the fact that Saints budgeted to go out of the FA Cup at the third round stage - an example of the club's "unsexy" financial policies - meaning the cup cash is an added bonus.

Managing director Andrew Cowen insists Saints' aim of "good housekeeping" has left the club in a healthy state.

High-profile events at Leeds United have recently shown how easy it is to lose money in the football world.

But Cowen believes the "conservative" attitude of chairman Rupert Lowe ensures Saints will never end up in a situation like that.

Providing Saints and Arsenal both win on Sunday, Strachan's men are assured of a European place next season providing the Gunners don't finish outside the top five in the Premiership.

"I won't deny the club has done well financially out of the FA Cup run, as well as rewarding the fans with the performances," said Cowen.

Lowe has previously stated that Saints budgeted to go out of the tournament in the third round, and Cowen said: "We always budget very conservatively.

"Good housekeeping is not sexy, it's not exciting.

"For the fans it's more fun for us to borrow £80m and spend it all on players, like other clubs have done.

"But as other clubs have found out, that can turn out to be an unpleasant experience.

"We don't believe it's good business sense to over borrow, and we have resisted the temptation - that's why we were one of only three Premiership clubs to be profitable last year.

"What's happening now is because we have carried out good housekeeping over the last seven years, and that's why we were one of the few clubs that were able to invest during the transfer window."

He added: "It's unpopular to do good housekeeping but if that's the way you believe in doing business, then you must stick to it.

"If you perform well as a result of an ongoing process of good housekeeping then it's more satisfying than if you'd gone out and thrown millions at it.

"The fruits of the approach shown over the last seven years are becoming more evident

"This club is going forwards rather than backwards.

"It's performing better on the field relative to other clubs in the division, and it's performing better off the field relative to other clubs in the division.

"That kind of success doesn't happen overnight with good housekeeping - but it's something that everyone connected with the club can feel comfortable with."