Any time a Premier League manager loses their job, it becomes the subject of the domestic football news cycle.

That is certainly the case when a manager loses their job in record time, something Nathan Jones accomplished by overseeing the seventh-shortest spell of management in Premier League history.

With seven league defeats out of eight games and Saints languishing bottom of the Premier League table, it was hard to argue with Sport Republic’s decision to cut ties with the former Luton boss.

READ MORE: The eight Saints games that defined and destroyed the brief Nathan Jones era

That point was rammed home emphatically on Saturday afternoon as Saints collapsed to lose 2-1 to Wolves despite leading by a goal - and a man - at half-time.

Here’s how pundits and former players have reacted to the news of Jones’s swift departure…

Roy Keane

‘No surprises’

"It’s been a difficult few months for the manager, no doubt,” the former Manchester United midfielder told Sky Sports. 

“He’s an experienced manager and everything but I felt for him, every time he said something he was getting scrutinised and people were quick to criticise him. 

"But of course results weren’t great, the reaction of the supporters down there, it seemed to get really nasty, and obviously the result not good enough - particularly against 10 men. 

“So no surprises, but you feel for a manager three months into the job, I always feel for managers when they lose their jobs so quickly."

Gary Neville

‘The players are nowhere near good enough’

"I watched Southampton play at Brentford last Saturday and obviously Nathan Jones gets the sack, that’s the way it goes in football," said Nevile, himself fired after 28 games in charge of Spanish side Valencia during his lone foray into management. 

"But the players that they’ve got there are nowhere near good enough I don’t think, watching them last week being the first time I’ve seen them live this season. They’re well off where some of the other teams are down the bottom."

Franny Benali

‘It’s a big call from the owners’

"I don't agree with Nathan Jones' comments (about Wolves going down to 10 men being a detriment)," Saints legend Benali told the BBC.

"When Mario Lemina got sent off I thought it was the best opportunity Southampton were going to have to take three points in a crucial game.

"Southampton didn't manage the game well enough. Goals have been a problem; they've conceded 16 in the Premier League under him and won one in eight. It hasn't been enough.

"It’s a big call from the owners to admit they got the appointment wrong. The next one will be crucial."

Paul Robinson

‘He didn’t seem the right fit’

"If Southampton got beaten at all on Saturday, he was gone, after what he said in midweek," the former Spurs goalkeeper told the BBC.

"He completely set himself up for a fall the way he was so outspoken, the way he sat there, told us about how good he was.

"When you have to justify yourself, there is a problem. He didn't seem the right fit and he was battling from day one."

Adam Blackmore

'The club have gone backwards'

Neil Taylor

‘I don’t understand what you’re looking at’

"It is very difficult. We spoke about (Jones at) Stoke and I don't know what metrics they (Sport Republic) are looking at when this guy hasn't managed in the Premier League," former Swansea defender Taylor said, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I don't understand what you’re looking at, what are you measuring it against, if he has not managed in the Premier League?

"What you should say is we think this is a really good young coach who we are going to back and give him time, and we believe over a couple of years he will come good.

"If you are looking for someone to keep you in the Premier League, there are no metrics there with him, so I don't really understand. I know [Tottenham boss Antonio] Conte has spoken about the fact he thinks people above should speak a bit more, and I think this is the case here.

"They have all these metrics and then Nathan Jones signs James Bree, who he had at Luton as a right-back, so I don't know where he would have come up under all these metrics about signing young players from across Europe. They have just signed someone he [Jones] knew and then sacked the manager two weeks later.

"So you can talk about metrics all you like, but you have got to have a clear plan when you appoint somebody, you have got to have a long-term vision that they will be a good coach for your football club.

"Otherwise you are bringing in a firefighter to try and keep you up, which is probably what they (Saints) are going to do now, because they are looking at the amount of money they could lose if they are relegated, and the metrics go out of the door, because they are looking for someone who can come and help them.

"There is no-one they can sign now, so they can't use the metrics for nothing. They've got three months to stay in the league and then all plans change very quickly.

"I feel very sorry for Nathan Jones, maybe it wasn't a match for both teams. I think he is a really good manager, he has been box office at times with his press conferences and I do believe he has been trying to show how enthusiastic he is, because it is about the job and how much he wanted to work and get it across to people.

"But when you do get the media training, they do sometimes say 'less is more'."

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