Saints supporters have seen the cost of season tickets rise by four per cent – but fans appear split over whether the increase is fair.

A poll on dailyecho.co.uk revealed that a slight majority thought the price hike for the 2014/15 campaign was reasonable.

Hundreds of votes were cast, with 57 per cent leaning that way, and 43 per cent the other.

The cheapest adult season ticket available at St Mary’s now costs £541, while the most expensive on offer is £853.

The latter of those prices is for a new ticket, with the dearest renewal coming in at £759.

Across the board, in every category, the cost has risen by approximately four per cent.

Nick Illingsworth, who runs supporters’ website theuglyinside.net, believes the increase isn’t too prohibitive in essence, but thinks a price freeze would have been a better move on the club’s behalf.

“I think it’s reasonable in the fact that it’s only an increase of roughly a pound a game,” he said.

“But, given the current financial climate, I think most supporters would have hoped the prices would not have risen.

“I think it’s a little bit of a missed opportunity to give something back to the supporters.”

Steve Grant, who runs the saintsweb.co.uk fans’ site believes the amount of extra cash the club generate from the increase will amount to nothing more than a “drop in the ocean”.

“The club will probably break the £100m turnover barrier this season as a result of the new TV deal, and yet the fans are being asked to stretch themselves again, which seems a strange call,” he said.

The news will, obviously, come as a blow to some supporters, who will again find themselves having to decide whether to shell out additional cash to watch their team, or give up their seat.

Others, however, will no doubt view the increase as still offering good value and as an inevitable side-effect of success.

When compared to other clubs in the Premier League, the prices do roughly reflect Saints’ position in the league table now.

While they are some way short of the most expensive, they cost more to watch than many sides in the division.

Their top-priced adult ticket is dearer than 12 other clubs, while 14 sides offer a better price on the cheapest renewal.

There is good news for young Saints fans, though, with the club offering a free under-11 season ticket in the family stand when purchased with two adult season tickets.

Current season ticket holders can renew their seats at any time from Tuesday, April 29, until Friday, May 30.

New season tickets can also be bought from Tuesday, April 29. However, people purchasing one of those will, obviously, not be able to choose a seat that is already taken by an existing season ticket holder.

After the Friday, May 30, deadline, sales will pause until Monday, June 9, from which point they will be on general sale.