It came as something of a shock when news filtered in that Nigel Adkins had been pushed out the exit door at St Mary's.

It is hard to know what Southampton's board were expecting from their first season back in the top flight. The club are not in a glorious position in the league but they are 15th, three points outside the relegation zone.

The board should have been delighted with that, bearing in mind that the south-coast club were in the third tier as recently as 20 months ago.

And the well-respected and popular Adkins had the team on the right track after a difficult start which saw them lose eight of their first 10 games.

Starting with a 2 - 0 win over Newcastle on November 25th, the Saints have only lost twice, picking up three crucial wins in the process.

Huge risk

The timing of Adkin's sacking also makes no sense. If he was not the boards favoured man, they could have made the decision in the summer rather than take a huge risk mid-way through the season.

His replacement Mauricio Pocchetino might not adapt to the Premier League quickly enough especially with the pressure of a relegation dog fight to contend with.

The Argentine is highly rated as a manager despite leaving Spanish Espanyol rooted to the bottom of La Liga by the time he resigned in November.

The 40-year-old had guided the cash-strapped Barcelona-based club to four consecutive mid-table positions. 

But this is a different task altogether in a different culture. The players - who were loyal to Adkins - may not take to the new man and communication may be an issue in the dressing room, with Pocchettino having little English.