Mark Wotte has revealed that money was so tight at Saints he was unable to sign the imposing striker he so desperately needed to give his side a chance of survival.

The head coach first wanted to bring former star Dexter Blackstock back to St Mary’s on loan from QPR.

But the club were unable to stump up a loan fee in the region of £300,000 for two months work and he subsequently went to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

Then, just when Wotte had agreed a loan move for Crystal Palace striker James Scowcroft, the bank refused to fund the deal.

Shortly after that Southampton Leisure Holdings went into administration.

And, with Saints owing money to four other clubs in instalments for players, the Football League put a block on them bringing anybody else in.

Scowcroft, 33, was out of favour at Palace last season.

He only appeared in ten Championship games, and Palace failed to score in nine of them.

Scowcroft belted a hat-trick at St Mary’s on the opening day of the 2007/08 season when Palace won 4-1.

He went on to score nine goals that season.

Wotte admits that he pleaded with PLC chairman Rupert Lowe and administrator Mark Fry for four weeks of clemency to try and save the team from the drop.

He knew that going into administration before the end of the season would seriously dent Saints’ chances of survival.

He said: “I knew the first time Mark Fry came into my office with Rupert Lowe telling me the bank had bounced some cheques and stopped the overdraft we had a problem.

“We had a problem signing players.

“First of all we wanted to sign Dexter Blackstock but we didn’t have the ridiculous money they wanted for two months – I think it was £300,000 for two months.

“We couldn’t afford Dexter and I tried to sign Scowcroft. We reached an agreement with Neil Warnock and Scowcroft and the bank didn’t allow us to bring him in.

“Then I knew we were in trouble."

For full story and an exclusive two-page interview in which Mark Wotte tells how all the off the field problems affected things on the pitch, don't miss today's Daily Echo.