Wotte blames low crowd on weather

Crowds at St Mary's have dwindled since relegation from the top flight

Southampton boss Mark Wotte has put the Saints' lowest ever league attendance at St Mary's down to the weather.

Tuesday's last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by Sheffield United was watched by just 13,257 supporters.

The match only went ahead after a number of pitch inspections and safety considerations, following heavy snow.

Wotte told BBC Radio Solent: "We had 17,000 on Saturday, they all went home satisfied with the performance. Today, I think it's more about the weather."

He continued: "I thought it was silent in the stadium in the second half especially when you go all the way to try to win.

"I think there was a very late reaction in support of the players but I know we have to earn that support. I'm not blaming the crowd, I'm just working with the players to do a better job."

The result leaves the Saints facing a grim battle to avoid relegation with just 15 matches left.

This is a battle that we lost, but we haven't lost the war yet

Southampton head coach Mark Wotte

The new lowest league attendance beats the previous worst figure of 14,226 against Coventry City in October.

Two months before that game, just over 11,000 turned up to watch the Carling Cup victory over Birmingham City.

St Mary's opened its doors for the first time back in 2001 after the club switched from the intimacy of the Dell.

Sell-out crowds of 32,000 regularly followed Southampton in the Premier League at the new ground before relegation in 2005.

But that is a far cry from the plummeting attendances this season. Saints have won just once in front of their own supporters in the Championship in this campaign and face the prospect of relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1960.

Last Saturday, around 500 Saints fans went on a protest march from Southampton city centre to the stadium to voice concerns over the way the club is being run.

Saints lie second bottom in the Championship and three points off safety. On Saturday they travel to fellow strugglers Watford.

And Dutchman Wotte is confident of Southampton surviving.

"This is a battle that we lost, but we haven't lost the war yet," he said.