MARK Wotte insists Saints’ players have agreed to remain patient in waiting for their wages to be paid.

The head coach had the unenviable task of phoning round the squad, many of who are on holiday, to tell them the news that they would not be receiving their wages for May yesterday.

Administrator Mark Fry addressed the rest of the staff at St Mary’s and gave them the same message – asking for a bit of goodwill to give him some extra time to sell the club and save it from extinction.

Wotte said there was an encouraging response from his players even though many of the younger members of the squad are paid far more modestly than those at the top end of the scale.

He said: “I rang all the players and explained the situation – that everybody’s working very hard to get the wages paid and hopefully we can do it.

“Everybody was understanding of the situation.

“I asked the players to be patient for a couple of days and hopefully we’ll have better news on Monday.

“Everybody is worried and not very happy but the majority of the players showed understanding and are hoping for better news.”

If a buyer cannot be found in the next few days, Fry will have to seriously consider other options.

One of those may well be a fire sale of players.

There is plenty of interest in some of Saints’ young stars and there would be no shortage of takers – particularly as to get the money in to the club quickly it would probably mean selling them at reduced prices.

However, this is one problem that Wotte does not fear.

“Everybody knows we are trying to sell players and reach a deal with investors and new buyers which could be done quickly, hopefully,” he said.

“The fact we haven’t found a buyer yet is affecting our position.

“I can accept the fact we have to lose one, two or three players because of the situation we are in.

“We are going down to League One and there is interest from Premier League or Championship clubs and we have to be realistic.

“But we are strong in negotiations and hopefully we can stay that way.

“I am not afraid that I will lose half my squad because of this situation.

“I am an optimist by nature so I said to the players give the club and the administrator at least until Monday.”