The funeral service for former Saints director Brian Hunt, who played an important role in the club’s move from The Dell to St Mary’s, will take place next week.

Hunt, a former vice-chairman and vice-president of the club, passed away last week at the age of 80, but he leaves behind an important legacy.

His involvement at Saints began as far back as the 1949-50 season, when he was an associate schoolboy at The Dell.

Hunt never made a first-team appearance, though, and instead left to pursue other opportunities.

He did enjoy a part-time career in football, with spells at clubs including Winchester City, Poole Town and Newport IOW.

Fittingly, he ended his playing career by leading out Netley at The Dell in a Hampshire Senior Cup final clash against Fareham.

However, his main career was in the building trade, with Hunt, who qualified as a quantity surveyor, setting up his own successful company.

He remained associated with the club through that, working on various projects at The Dell.

In a move that allowed him to combine two of his great passions, he joined the board of directors in 1988, and was tasked with the complicated challenge of converting the quirky old stadium from a 30,000 capacity to a modern 15,000 all-seater set-up, following the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report.

Hunt, who became vice-chairman, was also a major player in the development of a high-quality training ground in Marchwood, and later became a key figure in the search for a new home for the club, acting as a lead negotiator on the proposed move to Stoneham.

That project never came to fruition, but Hunt was then an important component of the team that helped see through the creation of Saints’ current home, St Mary’s.

Following that move, he stayed on as a director until June 2007, when he retired. He was subsequently made life vice-president of the club, although that role ceased to exist in 2009.

His funeral is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 21, at 12.15pm, at Wessex Vale Crematorium.