Will Still: Southampton sacks the manager after five months in charge

The two championship wins this season were accompanied by six draws and five league defeats for the Saints, who were relegated from the First Division last season.

These two wins came on the opening day of the season at home to Wrexham and away to Sheffield United on the last day of September.

After beating Northampton Town and Norwich City in the EFL Cup, they exited the competition with a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.

Steele’s dismissal comes after a run of five matches without a win, consisting of two draws and three defeats.

He told BBC Radio Solent after Saturday’s defeat that there was “no immediate solution” for the team after another loss.

“If I had an immediate solution I would have found it about a month or two ago.

“I don’t think there’s an immediate solution to be really honest with you, and I think whatever it is, there’s a big job and I knew there was a big job coming here.

“I said a few weeks ago that there are a lot of things that need to change that haven’t changed yet because we haven’t had time to do so, but clearly there is still a lot of work to do.”