MATT Le Tissier has urged Saints fans to unite behind the team in the wake of Jan Poortvliet’s departure as head coach.

The Saints legend said he was surprised the Dutchman had chosen to step down from his role.

However, he welcomed the appointment of Michael Svensson as an assistant to new head coach Mark Wotte.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” said Le Tissier, right. “There was a meeting a few days earlier where it seemed everyone had come out of it happy with the way things were going forward.

“But it seems that Jan had obviously taken the home form into consideration and thought the best way the club might get out of trouble is if he wasn’t there any more.”

Le Tissier said people will need to wait and see whether Wotte proves to be a good appointment or not.

But he called on fans to forget about their issues with Rupert Lowe and the board for the rest of the season.

“Only time will tell, but obviously with the finances being so bad there was no chance of anyone else coming in, so they had to appoint from within,” he said.

“Finances dictated that we couldn’t bring a new manager in and the important thing now is for the fans to unite and get behind the team.

“I know they have got issues with the board, which is all well and good, and I’m not condoning in any way, shape or form what happened at boardroom level, because there have been mistakes.

“But the most important thing when you are sitting in the bottom three is that the crowd unite behind the team."

For full story and more Saints news see today's Daily Echo.