Keane jibe angers rock-bottom Saints

Southampton 1 Man Utd 2

And boss Harry Redknapp, who may now quit football, put it down to the all-too-frequent changes in manager, as well as the large size and poor quality of his squad.

Southampton had initially looked set to pull off a last-gasp survival act, having seized an early lead courtesy of a John O’Shea own goal.

However, Darren Fletcher equalised soon afterwards and, with West Brom going ahead, Southampton’s fate was decided when Ruud van Nistelrooy clinched victory on 61 minutes.

At the final whistle, thousands of Southampton fans called for Lowe’s resignation, following the short-lived reigns of Stuart Gray, Paul Sturrock and Steve Wigley.

However, their anger was soon turned on Keane, who emerged for a post-match run on the pitch and appeared to respond to some barracking with a thumbs-down sign, indicating the club’s relegation. Stewards had to step in to usher Keane down the tunnel as Southampton fans rushed to express their fury at the United skipper.

The net result was, however, still the same. Having come agonisingly close to survival, Southampton had actually finished bottom of the table, costing the club up to £25m in lost revenue. Several leading players, such as Peter Crouch, Kevin Phillips and Antti Niemi, may now have to be sold.

And Redknapp, who was only appointed in December, confirmed he would retire from the game if he did not stay on at St Mary’s next season.

He revealed: “I have to speak to the chairman and see what his plans for the club are. I’ll have a break and see what I want to do. But I couldn’t find a better club than this.”

Not that Redknapp will exactly have endeared himself to Lowe with his comments about the painfully obvious lack of managerial stability at the club over recent seasons.

Redknapp, the eighth Southampton boss in just seven years, said: “That’s why they’ve gathered so many players. Each manager comes in and says ‘where he’s come from’? That’s the problem. The game has always been about good players and if you’ve got good players, you’ve got a chance.

“But we’ve got too many players, I’ve never seen so many players in my life at a club, they’re everywhere but short of quality. I don’t know where half of them have come from, but they’re here and that’s the problem.

“I did a bit of quick surgery in the January window and we improved but we still had tough fixtures left. In fact, when I came here, the French assistant coach, Christian Damiano, told me I had no chance of keeping this club up. After a week, I thought he was right.

“I don’t regret coming here though, it’s a good club. I’m proud to be their manager but unfortunately it was a tough job and we couldn’t pull it off. We weren’t good enough.”

United boss Alex Ferguson agreed: “Harry and Jim Smith have just come here too late. If they’d had a full season with their own players, I think they’d be in a far safer position. But with their experience and knowledge, they will bring them back to the Premiership, no doubt about it.”

SOUTHAMPTON: Niemi, Telfer, Lundekvam, Higginbotham, Bernard (Davenport 78), Prutton (Phillips 71), Redknapp, Quashie, Le Saux (Delap 71), Camara, Ormerod.

MAN UTD: Carroll, O’Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Fortune, Fletcher, Giggs, Smith, Rooney (Saha 74), van Nistelrooy (Phil Neville 87).

Referee: S Bennett (Kent).