If there's one trend that this list shows about the Rupert Lowe era it's that well regarded coaches with no experience at the top level were repeatedly pushed into the managerial post and were repeatedly found wanting. Wigley, who replaced Sturrock in August 2004, was perhaps the worst of the bunch. A player under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest and later that club's academy director, he had been appointed to run the Southampton academy by Gray during his brief stint in charge and ended up long outstaying his boss. Under Strachan, Wigley had become a coach with the first team and had briefly served as caretaker manager before Sturrock's appointment. Nothing about those two previous games in charge suggested Wigley would be comfortable stepping up into the main job permanently, but that didn't deter Lowe from offering it to him after Sturrock's failure and many fans, for their part, were just relieved that a rumoured return for Glenn Hoddle did not materialise. Wigley lost his first two games in his new spell in charge. Indeed, he went ten league matches before winning a little fan sympathy when his first league victory came in November against Portsmouth. That proved to be the only league game Southampton won under Wigley. After two more defeats and a draw he was demoted back to taking responsibility for the youth players. Wigley and Southampton permanently parted company later that year and he has never had another full managerial post, continuing as a successful youth coach instead. For Saints, though, things were only about to get worse.
