WILL LIVERPOOL BRIDGE THE GAP?

The England Under-21 defender is an automatic choice for the team - he was the only outfield player in the Premiership to appear in every minute of every league game last season.

And this season Bridge is the only Saints man, apart from goalkeeper Paul Jones to have been ever-present in the league to date.

But for a club who were unable to hang on to manager Glenn Hoddle, and key centre-half Dean Richards from Spurs sycophantic approaches, the importance of keeping Bridge cannot be under-estimated.

Southampton supporters would be livid at chairman Rupert Lowe if he were unable to keep the player who the fans voted for their player of the year last season. Bridge whose 86% tackle success rate is the best by any regular Saints performer has stated that he has no intention to move.

Bridge said: "I'm Southampton through and through. I grew up supporting the club and I'm not looking to leave at the moment". However that last part of the statement is hardly a cast iron guarantee that the 21-year-old will stay at St Mary's.

Bridge is the only Southampton player to have completed more than 80 successful passes in the league this season, and his consistency is what has made the league leaders sit up and take notice of him.

Although Bridge has signed an extension to his current contract, that has not prevented the likes of Richard Wright, Seth Johnson and other young Englishman joining so-called 'bigger clubs' recently to further their ambitions.

Loyalty is very rare in top-class football these days and it would probably more surprising if the man whose 27 crosses and corners have resulted in goals for Marian Pahars and James Beattie in the wins at Bolton and Middlesbrough were to stay at his home-town club beyond the current season.

If and not when Bridge leaves St Mary's, it will be an all too familiar story of how wide the gulf between the haves and have not's in the Premiership has become. And as usual, the Southampton supporters will have to grin and bear it and hope the cash generated can be used to rebuild the team.