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Exclusive - Saints legend on the day he feared his club was about to die

Kelvin Davis was a stalwart in the Southampton goal for a decade and now works as the club’s Football Development Executive
Kelvin Davis was a stalwart in the Southampton goal for a decade and now works as the club’s Football Development Executive

When I look back to the summer of 2009 and compare Southampton then to what it is now, it feels as if we are talking about an entirely different club.

I was not alone in thinking the time had come to look for another club when we went down to League One as no one was too sure what the future was going to hold.

We were sat in the canteen at the training ground when news flashed up on the bottom line of Sky Sports News confirming our worst fears; we were being docked 10 points for going into administration. To be honest, it felt like the end of the club.

Most of us in the room that day came to the conclusion that our time was up at Southampton. There didn’t seem to be anywhere left to turn.

I never wanted to leave Southampton. I loved coming to work every day, my family were settled in the areas, but an offer was on the table from West Ham and I felt I had to take it. Southampton could offer me no assurances over the future, so I was expecting to sign for West Ham and that would have been it for me at a club I had grown to love.

Then finally a light emerged at the end of what appeared to be a bleak tunnel as Markus Liebherr came to the rescue and saved the club.

We didn’t quite know what Markus would do for Southampton at the time, but the primary reason why we are a Premier League club now and preparing for a League Cup final at Wembley is down to the Liebherr family.

The truth is everyone has played a part in the Southampton revival since 2009. Alan Pardew was crucial in setting some foundations in place for what was a difficult first season in League One.

As we got relegated from the Championship, the Football League carried over the 10-point penalty to the following season and I remember it took us a long time to get out of negative territory. The mindset starting 10-points behind was hard to overcome and that meant we came up short in the promotion race.

However, we did with the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Wembley that season and while it is not the biggest competition in the game, it was massive for us at the time. We had 50,000 Saints fans at Wembley and so many of them tell me it is their favourite moment supporting the club. It gave us an appetite for more success.

Promotion to the Premier League came over the next two seasons and then we had to try and move it up a level. That’s where Mauricio Pochettino changed the mentality of the club.

Staying in the Premier League in that first season is never easy and while Nigel Adkins did a great job getting us there, Poch changed the mindset of the club the moment he arrived.

His professionalism, desire to win and vision for the future changed everything for us. It was not just Poch, but his staff as well who transformed the club and that is what we needed as we went from a club happy to be in the Premier League to one that believed we belonged there.

Top half finishes have become the norm in the last few years, which is an incredible achievement for everyone involved, especially when you consider the players we have lost in that period.

The one piece of the jigsaw that has been missing is a Cup Final win. We haven’t done as well as we would have liked in the domestic cup competitions, but the semi-final win against Liverpool is what we have been waiting for. Now we get this shot at Manchester United at Wembley.

This will be the biggest victory in Southampton’s history if we can pull it off on Sunday.

The FA Cup winning team of 1976 (below) are rightfully remembered as heroes, but winning trophies in this era of the game was so difficult for a club of our size. We are competing with one hand tied behind our backs in many ways and to beat a team like Manchester United – as we did in that 1976 Final at Wembley – would be very special.

Southampton’s Peter Rodrigues, Jim Steele, Mel Blyth and David Peach celebrate with the FA Cup after their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Wembley
Southampton’s Peter Rodrigues, Jim Steele, Mel Blyth and David Peach celebrate with the FA Cup after their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Wembley

And we know we can beat them. We can beat any team in the Premier League when we are at our best and there is a good confidence running through the team heading into this one.

All the players who will take to the field in Southampton shirts on Sunday have a chance to become club legends. I’m just a bit annoyed that I retired last year and won’t be part of the squad for this great occasion.