Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe is to hold showdown talks with striker Agustin Delgado to decide his future.

The �3.2m signing, who fled to his home in Ecuador 10 days ago claiming boss Gordon Strachan hated him, stunned Saints when he wandered into the club's Staplewood training ground on Monday.

He apologised to Strachan and Lowe, who is furious with Delgado.

Now discussions will take place to resolve the Delgado dispute, with the player under contract until summer 2005.

"English supporters are cold people who didn't even say anything to Agustin on his birthday Agustin Delgado's spokesman

Delgado's brother and spokesman Marcos claims one of the reasons the forward went home was because fans did not talk to him on his 28th birthday on 23 December.

He told the Southern Daily Echo: "My brother hasn't had success here because he hasn't felt well on the personal side.

"English supporters are cold people who didn't even say anything to Agustin on his birthday. They ignored that kind of thing.

"My brother has had offers from a team from London and Birmingham - in addition to another offer from Real Betis."

Delgado's agent Eric Manasse added: "A face to face meeting has been arranged so the various parties can have a frank and honest discussion.

"Our sincere wish is that Delgado can continue at Southampton and contribute to the team's success.

"If that's not possible, we'll have to look for another solution."