The club ended the previous season with its parent company,
Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC in
administration. As a result the club entered the 2009–10 season with a ten-point deduction imposed by
The Football League. On 8 July 2009 the administrators confirmed that the club had been sold to a buyer "owned and controlled by Markus Liebherr". On 9 July 2009
Mark Wotte was sacked as Head Coach with
Stewart Henderson taking temporary charge. The club confirmed that the search for the new manager had already begun. They said in a statement that the decision is part of a wider strategic plan being implemented to improve all aspects of the club's operations, both on and off the field. On the opening day of the season Saints forced a 1–1 draw against
Millwall, with
Matthew Paterson netting the club's first goal in League One. Following this, the Saints made their first big signing under Markus Liebherr as they unveiled new striker
Rickie Lambert who was purchased on 10 August 2009, for an initial £800,000, which could rise to £1m subject to appearances, from fellow League One side
Bristol Rovers. Liebherr also brought in Italian businessman
Nicola Cortese to look after the club's business interests on his behalf. As well as Rickie Lambert, Pardew was given the funds to complete a string of other signings to rebuild the squad including:
Dean Hammond,
Radhi Jaïdi,
Graeme Murty,
Dan Harding,
David Connolly,
Michail Antonio,
Papa Waigo,
Lee Barnard,
José Fonte,
Danny Seaborne,
Jon Otsemobor and
Jason Puncheon, meaning that by the end of the January
transfer window, Southampton had spent over £3 million on players, a significantly larger amount than any other League one club. ==Pre-season==