Saints are set to replicate the famous open top bus ride of 1976, albeit in reverse prior to the fixture against Manchester City on the 40th anniversary of the iconic FA Cup Final Win.
All surviving members of the 1976 FA Cup Final side are set to take a nostalgic trip on an the actual open top bus used on that great day in 1976 and ride to St Mary's before the fixture against Manchester City.
The bus will arrive at the Guildhall Square at approximately 2.45pm on May 1st, it is scheduled to leave approximately 30 minutes later and it will initially turn left before turning right onto the Junction and then head down Above Bar Street towards the Bargate.
At New Road it will turn left to Six Dials where it will turn right and go down Kingsway, when it reaches the turning into St Mary's Street down behind Debenhams it will turn left into St Mary's Street and then at St Mary's Church where the club was originally formed in 1885 it will turn right into Chapel Road and then after passing what was Grove Street where the meeting which formed the club was held it will turn left on to Marine Parade for the final 400 metres to St mary's Stadium.
As it was on the final part of the journey to the Civic Centre almost 40 years earlier the bus will be led in by the Albion Band.
It is great to see that something is being done to honour what still is our only major trophy to date, it is something that has shamefully been ignored in the past, most of the players on show will be in their late 60's by now and the truth is in another ten years they will perhaps not be able to enjoy the occasion as they will be able to now.
Im sure that Saints fans both young and old will line the route to cheer them on and in some small way replicate the ecstatic welcome the team recieved back on May 2nd 1976.