IT IS more than three years since Saints fans began raising money for a fitting tribute to Mr Southampton but their patience will finally be rewarded at St Mary's tomorrow.

Ted Bates served Southampton FC for 66 years as player, coach, manager and director and will be remembered in the form of a bronze statue, which will be unveiled at midday.

Little more than a year ago, Saints became a laughing stock for the £112,000 statue that was so widely derided it was hauled from its plinth within a week of its unveiling.

Saints supporters reacted with a mix of amusement and fury as it was described as a caricature of a variety of other celebrities from Jimmy Krankie to former Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric.

But the Ted Bates Trust, a fans' group that began raising money for the original statue in February 2005, and football-board chairman Leon Crouch, who has funded the replacement out of his own pocket, are confident everyone will be happy with what they see tomorrow.

Sean Hedges-Quinn was commissioned to sculpt the replacement two months after the first statue, produced by Warsash artist Ian Brennan, was taken down.

Recommended to the club by the Bronze Age Sculpture C a s t i n g Foundry, H e d g e s - Quinn has a p r o v e n track record in producing highquality statues of football managers.

His tributes to former England managers Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson stand proudly outside Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town, and his statue of former Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe also received widespread critical acclaim when it was unveiled two years ago Dave Ford, chairman of the Ted Bates Trust, reckons Saints fans will be just as pleased with the replacement.

He said: "We went to see the statue on Tuesday and it's excellent. I know I said that last year but we have learnt from our mistakes this time.

"A year ago we saw the statue in its various bits and pieces and they looked good, it was just when it was put together that it didn't look right.

"This time last year was very stressful, I took a lot of stick, some of it justified and some of it not.

"I felt like walking away from it but I'm glad I didn't.

"This time we have a more professional sculptor, have stayed on top of it completely and have seen it whole.

"Last year we left Ian Brennan to it but this time we have made regular visits to the studio in London where Sean worked on it with Stan Mitchell, another very experienced sculptor.

"We're very pleased with it and I hope the fans are pleased as well.

"Leon has come in and been very supportive, not just financially but with his time."

The statue has been completed at Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry, where the finishing touches were also applied to last year's version.

Sue Rolfe, the manager of the foundry, has confirmed that the statue to be unveiled tomorrow is a vast improvement.

She said: "It's a beautiful sculpture.

Sean Hedges-Quinn is very good and it's been a pleasure to help.

"I'm sure the unveiling will be a happy occasion all round."

Ted Bates's widow Mary will be at tomorrow's unveiling together with the couple's daughter Jackie Jarvis.

Two of Bates's former teammates will be in attendance - 82-year-old Bryn Elliott and 78-year-old John Christie - as well as ten players who played under him: Harry Penk, Bob McCarthy, Stuart Williams Paul Bennett, Jim Steele, Hughie Fisher, Brian O'Neil, Norman Dean, Denis Hollywood, Pat Parker, Cliff Huxford and Mick Channon.

Crouch said: "We all know mistakes were made last time but there is no point dwelling on that. The key thing has been to ensure we put it right.

"Ted Bates was a fantastic servant for this club. His one-club record will surely never be equalled and he fully deserves this recognition."