Glenn Hoddle has been beaten to the signature of Gary Rowett by his old pal Peter Taylor.

The Birmingham full-back has agreed a £3 million move to Leicester after Taylor outbid his mentor from The Dell.

It was Hoddle who, as England boss, appointed Taylor as coach of the Under 21 side where he rapidly established a glowing reputation.

His hugely successful track record could not prevent his harsh sacking but he bounced back to lead Gillingham into Division 1 before being snapped up by Leicester.

Now he has repaid Hoddle by snatching Rowett from under his nose. Saints were prepared to equal their club record fee of £2 million for the 26-year-old but they were blown out of the water by Leicester's offer.

With only a severely limited budget and a new stadium to fund, Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe indicated he would not be drawn into an auction.

He was ready to move back in if Rowett's proposed move to Filbert Street fell through but that now looks unlikely after personal terms were agreed yesterday. The deal will be formally completed on Saturday but Rowett, who lives in Leicestershire, has confirmed that will be joining the Foxes.

Birmingham will make a healthy profit on the right-back they signed from Derby for £1 million and Rowett said: "I have missed the Premiership.

"I've missed the big games against the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. It is not quite the same in the Nationwide First Division. It was not a mistake to come to Birmingham - far from it. It was the turning point of my career. Sometimes you have to take a step backward to take two forwards."

Tomorrow is the deadline day for Saints season ticket holders to renew their tickets for the new campaign.

Southampton's away game at Coventry has been brought forward a day to Friday, December 22 to avoid clashing with Saturday Christmas shopping.

The visit to Charlton, no longer being televised because of internationals, has been put back to Wednesday, September 6 (8pm).

Saints new fixture dates:

Wednesday, September 6: Charlton (a) 8pm

Monday, October 23: Man City (h) 8pm

Friday, December 22: Coventry (a) 7.45pm

Wednesday, December 27: Tottenham (h) 8pm

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.