Saints' current PLC board are hoping to delay the date of a handover of power after calling an EGM yesterday.

In a surprise move the PLC board yesterday named a date - Friday, May 16 - for the EGM requisitioned by former chairmen Michael Wilde and Rupert Lowe.

Wilde and Lowe have called for all of the current board, apart from finance director David Jones, to be removed. They would be replaced by Wilde, Lowe and Andrew Cowen. The Daily Echo understands that once in power the same four men would also comprise the football board.

Wilde and Lowe are backed by 46 per cent of the club's shareholders meaning they are virtually assured an EGM victory - if the current board can't find a way to stop them before then.

The former chairmen offered the current board the chance to stay until the end of the season if they agreed to an orderly handover of power on May 6.

The Daily Echo understands that date, just two days after the end of the season, has been rejected by the current board who are keen to buy themselves more time to try and secure possible investment in the club and try to prevent the return of Lowe and Wilde.

However, it remains unclear at this stage whether Lowe and Wilde will accept such a compromise.

Saints chairman Leon Crouch said: "The board have been seeking to negotiate a compromise with Rupert Lowe and Michael Wilde to affect a handover after the end of the season but before the date of the EGM."

He added: "There is no question of seeking to delay for personal reasons and whatever happens, the board members - particularly those who have actively supported the club for many years - will remain devoted to its best interests."