Its only a whisper and hard to find at the moment, but some media outlets are reporting stories of unrest behind the scenes at St Mary's and Claude Puel's position far from safe.

soccer-rumours.com are reporting that "insiders" at St Mary's are saying that Claude Puel is in danger of being sacked by the club.

Their source is quoted

'Last week, he (Puel) and Dusan Tadic got into a huge row over the team's negative tactics',

'Yesterday, the board had to intervene and prevent him from placing Tadic on the transfer list.' 'Things are crazy at the moment, as it looks as though the club is getting ready to end its relationship with Claude Puel.'

This would be no surprise, after all Tadic had been derogatory about Puel in an interview a few weeks back when he was not happy about the manager substituting him during games.

Add to that the issues with Shane Long being substituted shortly after coming on recently in what was described as a mix up and the claims from soccer-rumours that the French manager has lost the dressing room seem to have some substance.

Certainly in recent weeks Puel's team selections, substitutions and tactics have been found wanting and although his position with the supporters had improved after getting through to the League Cup Final, it is heading in the wrong direction again in recent weeks.

The board have been patient with Puel and on the surface he would seem to be having a decent season, a cup final and still 9th in the league, however the board will know that with the quality in the squad it should have been better, we have underperformed this season and have not manged to get any consistency and that has been down to the manager.

Saturday's game against Hull seems to have rung a few alarm bells around St Mary's, many supporters have taken to social media claiming they would not be renewing their season tickets with Puel in charge and although this has been something that has surfaced in virtually all of the past three summers, this might be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Saints home form has been terrible this season and games like the Hull fixture have been the norm and the supporters have not been happy with games where tactically Saints have been inept and despite on paper having plenty of strikers who can score goals, there was too much mixing and matching and keeping faith with some whilst dropping others who were scoring goals.

It should be noted though that Puel has not been completely to blame, the failure of Les Reed and his team to bring in a central defender in the January transfer window has cost the board dearly and has not helped the manager as suddenly Saints went from having one of the best defences in the Premier League to having the worst after the departure of Fonte and the injury to Van Dijk.

Perhaps Ralph Krueger and his men took their eye off the ball of late being distracted by the take over discussions, these look set to be concluded one way or the other before the season ends and an influx of cash as well as new owners could see them unhappy with the job that Puel has done.

At the moment these are only whispers, but they will get louder if Saints slip out of the top ten and season ticket sales do not pick up.

Photo: Action Images

NeilF added 09:59 - May 1 The Hull game brought all the problems out for everyone to see. I am glad it happened like that so we did/do not paper over the cracks. This was Hull. This was a home game. Hull have been the worst team away this season. Claude Puel had a chance to prove to us he knew what he was doing. He failed. We have been poor this season and games like these have been happening too many times. For example, the West Brom game was the same. I do not feel we have a bad side. I have to say it is the management. I listen to Claude Puel whose English is not bad and a lot better than my French but I am not sure what he is saying half the time and what point he is trying to nail down. It is just not wholly coherent, so do the players really get what Claude’s football philosophy is and ideas are for each elite Premiership game? And, what did Puel really want out of those European games? There was period he just kept talking about rest and character. It was getting boring. Fans wanted a solid plan of action not excuses. But above all, I just wonder how he comes across to the players. I feel Claude Puel has not got the best out of his players. And his football beliefs and playing style are not working with the players. The amount of changes over the season. Players being dropped after playing well and formation changes must just upset and confuse all involved. They have just been playing for Southampton not the manager which is sad to say and, I feel, will have some bearing on whether players leave in the summer.

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Letiss7 added 10:53 - May 1 This article is total Bullsh*t !!! You are trying to make something out of nothing after a disappointing performance from the team. There was an article in France that reported on the booing from the fans and they have surmised that possibly Puel will not be the manager next season. One reporter stretching the truth to sell more Newspapers or to get more clicks on their website. So your agenda now is to drive Puel out and with it another summer of chaos.

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mikesaint added 11:01 - May 1 This is good news then Nick after Saturdays game I was hoping Puel and Black would have gone by today. At least Tadic wants the team to play decent attacking football.. A season wasted. Good Riddance.
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Bulgarian added 11:05 - May 1 The "Puel out" rumour started on Monday from a gossip-"article" from L'Equipe, suggesting that CP may not be at the helm come August through a rhetorical question and nothing more. The "Tadic criticising tactics" plot is understandable, though not believable. At the moment Dusan will do everything to attract transfer attention. After all, he's the Serbian top national player of the year and not-too-often Saints regular. He was not helped by the penalty miss, either. The truth (no matter appealing or not) is that Puel is quite suitable to the Board. And the Board will not risk a managerial change in the context of a possible quick takeover of the club. Both the board and the training staff will be content with "top half" achievement. Both - fans and players - know that this is not satisfactory, especially when the team is obviously underperforming. In my reading the sell of SFC is far more possible than a change of managers. The unpleasant fact is that it will happen soon, although we don't know when exactly. The most worrying fact recently has been the Daily Echo behaviour: the paper is clearly reflecting the board's policy to convince the public that a Chinese takeover is the only way for Saints to prosper. Thus KL will keep her aura as a true Saint and the club itself will be sold as a "CL contender"... Only that the fans are not so easily deceived by such manoeuvres. In many respects, this has to be the lowest point of governing SFC since the last 8 years. I'm afraid Reed and Krueger have lost the plot in the last 3 months. The rest is just a consequence of that. COYR

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SanMarco added 11:27 - May 1 I think we can all agree that there is something not quite right. As the season has progressed (many would say stumbled) towards its conclusion I think the role of Puel has inevitably come to the fore. Away from home we look two good CBs away from a decent side, at home we have only won a couple of games in the league in months. If the manager's job is tactics, player-motivation and in-game management then he does seem to be falling down badly. In answer to Letiss7 I do wonder whether Puel staying could be just as productive of a summer of chaos? Of course the 'he has lost the dressing room' stuff may be pure fiction or the stirring of one discontented player but if you add up all those who will want to leave because Puel doesn't play them to all those who may attract attention from the big boys then who will be left? Redmond, JWP, Stephens, Davis and Yoshi. Surely the verdict has to be that the guy has had plenty of time to get us playing a whole lot better than Saturday's clueless dross...

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Gibbo78 added 11:38 - May 1 I'm in complete agreement with NeilF. I couldn't have put it better if I tried. Puel seems like an alright guy but I was never convinced from day one and just to reiterate a good point already made; he rattles on in press conferences and I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about most the time, he seems just to string a load of 'buzz' words together in the hope that he sounds like he knows what he's talking about!?! If I had a pound for every time he used the words 'positivity' & 'character' I'd be able to buy you all a beer and take you out for a curry with change to spare!! Anyway, I know football is a fickle business and it's very easy to react negatively on the back of a poor performance but this isn't an isolated incident. There has just been too many games this season that have past us by when really, with the squad we have at our deposal, we should be spanking teams like Hull (like we use to). The sooner the board wake up and smell the coffee and admit their gamble hasn't paid off the better. I'd like to think we're already looking for potential replacements and come the summer we'll be saying 'au revoir Claude' thanks for the cup final but let's hope we never meet again! As he potters back to La Rochelle in his Twingo.

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deanosfc8 added 11:52 - May 1 Puel has proven he can get it right, the final was one of our best performances this season so why cant we play like that all the time? There have been far to many inconsistencies with our performances. Hull City was a chance for Puel to show the supporters to believe in what he was doing was correct & to get any doubters in his corner, why can we see the system we played Saturday wasn't working yet the management do nothing about it! leaving gabbi isolated clearly wasn't working so after an hour instead of getting someone to play alongside him our dead brain manager decides to take him off like for like! I really believe he has not got any idea what plan B would be & the club themselves has to take responsibility for employing him in the first place. Im not one for sacking managers but I see much the same dross next season, I'm not sure if the players are still with the manager & once they revolt thats it you only have to look at Chelsea last season. I would get rid today give another manager time to settle in.

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saintsnutcase added 12:06 - May 1 We keep saying that everything is fine because we're 9th. Actually there is virtually no gap between 9th and 16th, and we have some very hard games to come. Most of the mid table teams around us have squads that are worth far less than ours, so something has gone badly wrong. We did not really have a shot on target against Hull until the 90th minute, mostly because Puel picked a completely disjointed team and made even worse substitutions. I have had enough of him.

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ChristchurchSaint added 12:28 - May 1 I feel that CP has not had a good season, partly because of the lack of support from above. However, I am getting the feeling that he has "lost" the dressing room, and as we have seen before, that is normally the thin end of the wedge. Unfortunately CP is not a charismatic manager in any shape or form, and having Eric "the sleeping statue" Black as his assistant does him no favours whatsoever, so I expect him to be on his way. Assuming he does go, then as with players, please get somebody in early, to give them time to get their transfer targets in, clear out some expensive deadwood, and be in and settled before they return for pre season. DON'T bring a new manager in on August 31st!!!!

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ItchenNorth added 12:31 - May 1 Everyone loves a good rumour when it suits their agenda. The bottom line is, we are stable in the league so the boat won't be rocked yet. If we have new owners; well that's a different story.
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Saintsfc added 12:49 - May 1 I feel for Puel but unfortunately he hasn't been helping himself lately and it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify his decisions. Overall I think it's harsh for him to face the full brunt. Last summer I think everyone with half a football brain knew saints needed a forward. The club signed redmond before puel took the job, if puel genuinely believes redmond to be like Henry I don't think he would be able to tie his shoes in the morning! That decision was forced. Secondly, our start to the season in terms of performances was very promising. If Long / Redmond / JayR took only 1/3 chances everyone would be saying he is a genius. This forced rotations etc. Long story short, have a backup in place but actually back the manager this summer, build a group of players with a full pre season and for once set some clear expectations.

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NeilF added 12:49 - May 1 Just a thought, but didn’t the Leicester owners reportedly talk to senior players about Renairi and his disappointing tactics with the view to sorting out their mess? I wonder what senior players would say in confidence if asked at Saints about Puel. Because if they are not working with Puel’s footballing tactics and ideas, how will it change next season to produce quality and wins?

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allsaint54 added 14:39 - May 1 Alerts hope these rumours are true, else we'll be sliding into the Championship next season.
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BoondockSaint added 15:15 - May 1 Not to be too harsh on him, but this is the type of manager the board wanted: Make do with down market players and don't demand better players. So is he to blame for doing what he is told? The board refused to sign a big name manager when Koeman left---or big name managers refused to work under the conditions Puel accepted. So really we shouldn't be shocked by the results. Nick, I greatly appreciate the work you do on this site, however, I sometimes wonder if you are talking about the same team: "Certainly in recent weeks Puel's team selections, substitutions and tactics have been found wanting"---Recent weeks? More like all season! "Saints have been inept and despite on paper having plenty of strikers who can score goals,"???-----Certainly not on the field! "It should be noted though that Puel has not been completely to blame, the failure of Les Reed and his team to bring in a central defender in the January transfer window has cost the board dearly "-----That's all? They have needed two CBs and two strikers since the summer! And you could add to that a goal keeper to backup/push Forster. Just wondering: Who's to blame for the Boufal signing?

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the_saint added 15:45 - May 1 If puel loses the changing room even if the board are happy with him he will be sacked. What the board don't want is players wanting to leave because of the manager as this will cause a domino effect.
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saintmark1976 added 15:50 - May 1 What is the matter with everyone today. The fact is that if Tadic had scored the penalty and we had won then Saturdays game would have simply been forgotten. He missed and now Nick suddenly wants the managers head on a pole based on some unsubstantiated newspaper reports. It's not Puel's fault that he had to pick up the pieces after yet another shambolic close season. Nor is it his fault that VVD and Austin suffer long term injuries.Add in the fact that for reasons best known to Kat a possible takeover has been going on for months and it's hardly surprising that fans expectations have not been satisfied. For those who are not happy I suggest that instead of taking their frustrations out on the manager perhaps they would be better placed in being critical of the owner, chairman and director of football.Alternatively just be pleased that you are not a Sunderland or Middlesbrough supporter.

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the_saint added 16:02 - May 1 The squad we have should be doing a lot better than it has it's the managers job to manage puel is failing and this goes back before Austin and Virgil were injured, poor set up of team subs over rotating early on, where the blame lies who knows but it's a shambles This has happened all season but I think puel was on a hiding to nothing as if anybody can remember the boos at half time on the very first game.

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TeamCortese added 16:34 - May 1 What I find baffling is no one has made it explicitly clear what position they consider successful. For me a top 10 finish is what I expected to be the best case scenario. Especially when we lost Roko, Mane, VW and Pelle. To date Puel has positioned us for a top 10 finish along with a cup final. People need to look at things objectively and realise we’re not as good as we think we are. On paper we can’t compete with the top 6 and our closest rivals are Everton and Leicester. Thus any position between 7th and 9th is what should be expected. Personally I don’t rate Puel at the moment but I really do feel he’s been hung out to dry by the board. The board has taken little to no responsibility with supporting him at vital points of the season—whether that’s in the transfer windows or backing him in the press when thing’s weren’t going well. Moreover, injuries and adapting to the EPL and juggling that with the Europa league hasn’t helped his cause. As always the board has remained completely closed communicating with supporters about Puel's position even though there’s clearly an elephant in the room. I’m just hoping a deal is made quickly with the new owners and this season to end quickly. I am so disappointed with how things panned out compared to last year. Central to all this is the board. They are to blame! We were 3 points from a Champions League spot and now we’re 25 point behind because the club is run be a bunch of bellends!

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highfield49 added 18:05 - May 1 Having posted in the last few days that I think that Puel and Black should go, preferably fairly quickly to try and prevent some of the better players seeking pastures new, I'm now concerned about who the board might get in to replace him! There are some real turkeys out there looking for work and whilst the likes of Frank de Boer or Roberto Mancini have some credibility there are others who fill me with utter dread. I'm now hoping that the media starts speculating about inspiring, quality managers filling the void and not the appointment of a dead man walking.

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LordDZLucan added 18:29 - May 1 I think Puel picked a team to try to get Boufal firing on Saturday. Not a surprising thing to want to do given that he is our record signing and it is better to try things out this season when we have nothing to play for than next season. Cut the manager some slack. It's not his fault that Boufal doesn't look the part yet.
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aceofthebase added 19:50 - May 1 Wel done LLucan you are a rarity and have seen the true picture of the team selection. Puel out is the cry of far too many, He has made mistakes but who hasn't and also he has produced some exciting football. It's a compromise situation at the moment, trying to finish as high as we can but also preparing our team for next season. JS will make a fine CB and Boufal, with the right players around him may still be a star and a benefit to the side. It is a matter of fact that some of the team are struggling. The forwards in particular are not scoring but the midfield is not providing chances and protecting our weakened defense. Cedric at right back is a disaster and as an attacker is damned good, pity that most of his play is back towards our goal. Gabby had a poor game but he had little service. Tadic missed another penalty, Wednesday he missed the goal by a country mile, he has cost us many victories with his misses. He only plays half a game and has caused discord in the dressing room. It's time for Tadic to go but I don't think there will many buyers. Puel must stay! ( now let's go for mega minuses) I am so disappointed with the 'fans' that have been so negative on here. Are you all related to Nick?

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aceofthebase added 19:50 - May 1 Wel done LLucan you are a rarity and have seen the true picture of the team selection. Puel out is the cry of far too many, He has made mistakes but who hasn't and also he has produced some exciting football. It's a compromise situation at the moment, trying to finish as high as we can but also preparing our team for next season. JS will make a fine CB and Boufal, with the right players around him may still be a star and a benefit to the side. It is a matter of fact that some of the team are struggling. The forwards in particular are not scoring but the midfield is not providing chances and protecting our weakened defense. Cedric at right back is a disaster and as an attacker is damned good, pity that most of his play is back towards our goal. Gabby had a poor game but he had little service. Tadic missed another penalty, Wednesday he missed the goal by a country mile, he has cost us many victories with his misses. He only plays half a game and has caused discord in the dressing room. It's time for Tadic to go but I don't think there will many buyers. Puel must stay! ( now let's go for mega minuses) I am so disappointed with the 'fans' that have been so negative on here. Are you all related to Nick?

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Ron11 added 20:01 - May 1 This was the third time this season that i have fallen asleep during a match at St Mary's. This has never happened to me before even during the league one days when I was one of the 14,000. I totally agree with Nick and this cannot continue..and just for the record, Letiss7 is a complete idiot.
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AmericanSaint added 21:28 - May 1 While TeamCotese and I have had our differences in the past, he has hit it on the spot with his comment. Too many fans thought we were going to run at CL or Europa automatically and this is not the case. We lost some good players last year and our forwards couldnt hit the broad side of a barn in the 1st half of the season. How many of you said before the Cup semi with Liverpool - You would take a top 10 finish as long as we made the Cup finally. You said that Nick and many on this board did too. So here we are in 9 spot, a game in hand and we went to the Cup final and were robbed by a sideline judge. While I agree that there are problems and Puel has made some very weird player decisions, he can't take all of the blame. There is plenty to go around. And as SaintMark stated, if Tadic makes the penalty, people might moan the play but they would have forgotten it by now. On to the next.

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the_saint added 08:29 - May 2 There is a lot of people that think we have already secured a top ten spot
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