SAINTS revealed their financial records for 2020-21 and showed the extent of a cumulative £40.4million cost as a result of the COVID pandemic.

The club accounts for last year were published on Sunday afternoon, revealing that the club had posted a pre-interest and tax loss of £13.7million.

The figure is a significant improvement on their previous financial year loss, where Saints posted a loss of £73.3million.

The financial report details how the effects of the COVID pandemic including testing, safety protocols and matches played behind closed doors meant there were additional costs.

It stated that at the time of writing, the total 2020-21 revenue foregone as a consequence of the pandemic was £30.1million (2020: £10.3m), resulting in a cumulative cost of £40.4million during the course of the pandemic.

However, the club accounts were buoyed by improved turnover, partly due to the final six games of the last campaign coming after June 30, 2020, after the suspension of the 2019-20 Premier League.

Those fixtures and their revenue were, as a result, added in the financial year figures for 2020-21. Turnover improved from £126.6million to £157.2million.

A financial boost also came from player sales and purchases. For 2020, Saints posted a loss of £23.5million, but in 2021, they made a profit of £16.8million.

Full details of the financial records for 2020-21 can be viewed in the official report published via the club website.