SAINTS must confound the history books if they are to achieve Rupert Lowe's aim of 're-promotion' next season, writes Simon Carter.

Writing in Monday's programme, the under-pressure Saints chairman said it was "usually the second season after relegation, by which time rebuilding has taken place, when clubs achieve re-promotion to the FAPL."

The Daily Echo can today reveal that is not the case.

Of the 37 instances that a club has been relegated from the Premiership since the top flight's renaming in 1992 to the end of the 2003/04 season, only SEVEN times have they regrouped and won promotion in their second season.

That figure could rise to eight if Leeds United manage to negotiate the play-offs next month.

Historically, it's been easier for relegated clubs to go straight back up - that has happened ten times since the start of the 1993/94 season.

Of the seven clubs to go back up in their second season, only TWO have managed it since the start of the 2001/02 campaign - Sunderland and West Ham in 2004/05.

Sunderland have twice gone back up in their second season, both times as champions.

Middlesbrough also went up as champions two years after going down in 1993, while Blackburn finished runners-up in 2001.

West Ham, Bolton (2000) and Crystal Palace (1997) went back up via the play-offs.

Of the 25 clubs relegated from the Premiership between 1993-2004, 11 have never won promotion back to the promised land - Swindon, Oldham, QPR, Barnsley, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wimbledon, Bradford, Derby, Wolves and Leeds.

Sheffield United's recent promotion has elevated them out of that bracket.

The Blades are therefore the 14th club to drop out of the top flight to eventually win their place back.

Crystal Palace (three times), Nottingham Forest (2), Sunderland (2), Middlesbrough (2), Bolton (2), Leicester (2) and Manchester City (2) are all past masters at it.

Charlton, Blackburn, West Ham, West Brom, Ipswich and Norwich have also reclaimed their top flight place - only to relinquish it in subsequent years.