‘Are you glad you sacked Puel?’ mocked the Leicester fans as they went 3-0 up before half time at St Mary’s.

It would have been interesting to get the views of some Saints fans, and maybe even hierarchy, at that stage.

Maybe some would have concluded, are concluding as another season rolls on under another new manager, that Puel wasn’t as bad as many claimed when they called for his head in May.

Perhaps the problems at Saints run deeper than just the manager, and time might suggest that Puel did at least alright to get largely this same squad to eighth in the Premier League and a cup final. And that without his two stars players for half a season, blooding a host of youngsters, and the rigours of the Europa League to deal with.

Certainly the same manager is absolutely flying now in charge of Leicester, who were light years ahead of Saints for the vast majority of the game last night.

For Saints, meanwhile, so many of the same problems that dogged Puel, that he was eventually blamed for by some, are still evident.

With the squad he had at his disposal Puel felt that a certain way of playing was the key to success at Saints. He delivered results, but not always great entertainment.

Are Saints more entertaining this season? Perhaps at times they are. How are the results? Fans can decide themselves whether they are more or less content than they were.

How about Leicester under Puel? Well, now at least, they are both entertaining and winning.

Puel may well feel he made his case and proved his point last night.

Leicester tore Saints apart, especially in the first half.

They were embarrassingly better. Embarrassing for Saints that is.

By the break it was 3-0, and not only that but Saints could count themselves fortunate it wasn’t worse.

Leicester set the tone with their pacy and exciting counter attacking football by taking the lead on 11 minutes.

Riyad Mahrez had the chance to slip over and still strolled inside from the right and under no pressure at all as Maya Yoshida stood off he picked his spot from 20 yards and buried the ball in the bottom corner.

Shinji Okazaki’s deflected shot was saved by Fraser Forster, Mario Lemina cleared the Japanese international’s goalbound effort off the line and Forster saved at point blank range from Jamie Vardy before it did eventually become 2-0 on 32 minutes.

Mahrez pinged a deep corner to Christian Fuchs, who unmarked fired in a fierce left footed volley that pinballed in the area off of Steven Davis and Forster and presented itself to Okazaki who stabbed home.

Saints were getting booed when Leicester bagged a third six minutes later as Mahrez’s free kick was brought down by centre half Harry Maguire, who was allowed to turn and cross low to the far post where Saints were caught ball watching and the untracked Andy King ghosted in and tapped into an empty net from a couple of yards out.

Saints’ only reasonable effort of the half saw Charlie Austin hit the target from outside the area but Kasper Schmeichel turned over with relative ease.

After more of the same at the start of the second period – Forster saving from Mahrez and Maguire – Saints briefly came to life.

Schmeichel turned over a Ryan Bertrand free kick before Saints got a goal on 61 minutes.

Bertrand was the provider, as he found the head of Yoshida from a set-piece and the centre half headed back across goal and straight into the far corner, despite a few claims from Dusan Tadic that he got a touch.

It could have got better had Austin not picked out the desperate dive of Schmeichel from just a few yards out as Bertrand found him unmarked at the far post.

But any fleeting thoughts of a comeback were extinguished once and for all on 69 minutes.

Cedric Soares’ awful crossfield pass from right back presented the ball to Mahrez in time and space and he played it quickly into the path of Vardy down the right.

The striker whipped in a low cross and again it was all too easy for Leicester, this time Okazaki drifting in to sweep home.

The remainder of the match was not much of a contest to remember with the three points already in the bag for the Foxes.

For Puel, perhaps a sense of vindication.

For Saints, much to mull over.

For any talk or gnashing of teeth over Puel, they have more immediate things to fret over.

The gap to the bottom three is starting to narrow again, a little too much for comfort, and with trips to Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United as three of the next four matches, they need to rediscover the confidence and verve they showed against Arsenal quickly.