Alan Pardew’s shock Saints sacking this morning is likely to be greeted with quizzical looks by the club’s loyal fan base. A 4-0 rout at Bristol Rovers on Saturday looked to have steadied a shaky ship, which immersed in the ‘automatic promotion favourite’ tag had failed to hit the right attacking footnotes of last term from the offing.

But still, the former West Ham managers departure will leave a bitter pill to swallow for many associated with club. The 49 year old, whom was appointed last June, fought valiantly the demons of a ten-point administration deficit hung over Saints’ halo at the start of the last term to steer them to the brink of a play-off spot, and the club’s first piece of silverware since 1976, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy which marked a dawn of a new age under the St Mary’s club new owners.

Amid Pardew’s sacking, much of his coaching staff has followed the Englishman through the exit door, with previous coach under Pardew, Dean Wilkins taking up the managerial reigns on a caretaker basis for the time being. The timing of the statement of intent from the Southampton hierarchy is a perplexing one. Following a lavished spending spree over the last year structuring a squad built with quality and experience, it seems lucid to break up a team on the cusp of taking League One by the scruff of the neck at a canter, in spite of a mixed start albeit only three league matches in.

The thesis ‘progression’, a proverb very much evident in the club’s announcement depicts everything that is wrong with today’s game. If you take a glance at Pardew’s Southampton record, there are indeed few flaws within it and the old adage patience is a virtue is redundant in modern day football. Saints’, now find themselves in a situation where a willing successor is going to have to re-build, strengthen and stamp his own authority on a team which appeared settled in its outlook. Whoever, takes charge of Saints’ for the rest of this campaign should be weary of the, at times, unrealistic short term ambition of Chairman Nicola Cortese and co at the heart of the club’s way of working.

Whilst analysing the dismissal, few footballing related notions seem to stack up against Pardew, meaning it must have been a difference in opinion which has seen an experienced manager see his contract go up in flames. If it is a personal discrepancy between manager and board, alike, then this must have been something that had been chipping away in the background for quite some time creating an element of discontent because to make a drastic change three games into a new campaign could prove a fatal decision.

Normally, when something is not working in any walk of life you know from the offset. And you just have the feeling that this is the case at St Marys, suggesting it was only a matter of time before someone had to walk the plank. Timing, is never a foregone conclusion in football however, and if any sense had been saved, a pre season upheaval surely would have allowed the dust to settle with less disparage.

With no obvious front runners in the queue to land the managerial post, Saints’ fans should prepare for a couple of testing weeks. Mind you, it’s not something red and whites followers haven’t become accustomed to in recent years, is it?