Saints need to move fast in the next fortnight if they are to re shape their staff and get the team back on track in the Premier League and it will be a case of two crucial appointments.

The sacking of Les Reed has made Mark Hughes position at St Mary's even more shaky after a poor start to the season, whilst Reed was still in situ he had some backing in that Reed needed Hughes to succeed if he was to keep his own job after the two previous appointments were perceived as being wrong for different reasons.

But with Reed gone it seems that the owners and Ralph Krueger were not happy with Reed's work in the last couple of years and given that managerial appointments was a big part of that you don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that the board would also not be very happy with Hughes otherwise Reed would still be at the club.

But having taken the first step in changing the club structure, the second might not be as easy as it sounds, with no director of football in place, it will not be quite so easy to find a manager, not just because there is no one within the club with the true insider knowledge to make that appointment, but also because any new manager would want to know who he is going to work with if he was appointed and more to the point if he could work with him.

That would also be the case for any director of football joining the club, he will want his own choices in place and almost certainly both he and indeed the club would want him to have an input now rather than find that both could not work together and have to sack another manager.

This means that for the moment Hughes will stay in charge, indeed with this being an international break and that being the case there is no point in being hasty in sacking him just yet, even if Hughes went today any successor would not have a full squad together till next Thursday leaving a new man only two days to work with them.

So there is no urgency just yet, however I don't think Saints will rush the decision, it is likely that Hughes could still be in charge for the trip to Fulham, however should he lose that one then his position would be untenable and surely after the dithering last season Krueger and his board would see the need for change at that stage, they would have to accept that even a temporary manager from within the club would be better than hanging on.

Hughes has had the equivalent of more than half a season in charge, he has had almost as many games in the Premier League as Mauricio Pellegrino and with a worse record, i that record wasn't good enough to keep Pellegrino in his job then it certainly won't be good enough to keep Hughes in his.

So it is crucial that Saints fill the space vacated by Reed asap.

The favourite seems to be Stuart Webber who has worked closely with both David Wagner at Huddersfield and now Daniel Farke at Norwich, both are from the same Borussia Dortmund reserve side and it is natural to assume that if Webber came that perhaps Saints would look to bring in one of the two.

Certainly Wagner was linked last season with the job at St Mary's when Mauricio Pellegrino was sacked, although he seems to be well ensconced at Huddersfield even with their issues.

So Saints could be looking at two crucial appointments very soon and who is director of football will be key to who will be manager, although I am sure that Saints will not want to make a panic appointment and give Hughes a few more weeks to turn things around, but a few more weeks at best is all he has got, the Fulham game is now win or bust for him.

Photo: Action Images

Aussiejosh86 added 11:56 - Nov 15 I would prefer and i think the fans would be alot more excited and have more faith if the club appoint leonardo Jardim or a roger schmidt, ralf hassenhuttl or even as far as a roberto martinez. I feel since we are a smaller club we need to invest more money in a manager and coaches to get the best out of the players
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Aussiejosh86 added 11:56 - Nov 15 I would prefer and i think the fans would be alot more excited and have more faith if the club appoint leonardo Jardim or a roger schmidt, ralf hassenhuttl or even as far as a roberto martinez. I feel since we are a smaller club we need to invest more money in a manager and coaches to get the best out of the players
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underweststand added 12:01 - Nov 15 I wrote this comment on another thread.......BUT if Webber comes in ...and then gets Hughes replaced...with Wagner....are we supposed to be so enthusiastic about a manager who despite getting Huddersfield promoted...has a Prem. record little better than that of Pellegrino and Hughes ? If Wagner is such a great motivator, then why are Huddersfield in their present position , having just missed relegation... by a whisker ...last season?. Saints (like half-a dozen other clubs at the foot of the table), have only a mediocre squad who despite creating lots of chances still can't put the ball in the net. For many of the bottom 6-8 clubs, survival in the Prem. will be this seasons greatest reward. Whoever..replaces Les Reed will have a real job on his hands, not least to find another manager who can perform better than the last 3 people to get that post. If this site is anything to go by.. many fans have lost patience with the performances of a group of players (many of whom still have 2-3 seasons left on their contracts), and who don't have a list of clubs queueing up to buy them on January 2nd.

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SaintNick added 12:47 - Nov 15 For me the decline in performances is more about a lack of organisation and motivation especially motivation than anything else, when Alan Ball arrived at the Dell he had the same players as Branfoot, he didnt organise them better than Branfoot, but he did motivate them and make them believe in themselves and that is what we need someone who will get the team playing to their strengths but more importantly motivated

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dwayne_dibley added 16:51 - Nov 15 two appointments in two weeks, that would take two months at my local GP
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saintmark1976 added 23:08 - Nov 15 Nick, we have won eight games out of the last fifty two Premiership matches during which we have had three different managers.Even so you continue to believe that the problem is one of organisation and motivation when it's as plain as the nose on your face that the problem is lack of quality players.We have a squad of throughly average players who perform to the best of their ability but as the above statistic proves they are just not good enough. Responsibility for our current lack of success solely rests with the club's owners and management team in assembling such a squad. In regard to Bally he had Matt and built a team around him, nothing more nothing less. Who have we got to build a team around now? Proven under achievers the likes of J W P and Redmond to name but two.

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Sanguin added 11:05 - Nov 16 A new manager COULD turn things round. But as I keep saying, we’ve had trouble scoring under Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes; I think this trouble started when van Dijk got injured and we started playing more defensively. I’m not convinced a change of manager would immediately fix our scoring woes.
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Scoot added 12:21 - Nov 16 A new broom sweeps clean.... Hughes by and large has been picking the same team as MP2 up until October time. Gabbi still starts on the bench (apart from Watford) our youth gets farmed out and new signings don't get played. New manager please, we no Hughes is crap and that won't change and a new man needs time. I would say also it wasn't down to Hughes that we stayed up either, our results never improved. 1 win in 8 did the club really get him in to win 1 game and then think that's the standard we're looking to achieve, 1/10 win ratio? It must be they've given him their backing and said they're happy.

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SaintBrock added 18:26 - Nov 17 "Saints" and "moving quickly" together make an oxymoron. There was Emperor Nero and there is Ralph Kreuger.
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