Southampton were wrong to fire manager Claude Puel, according to Saints legends Laurie McMenemy and Mick Channon.

Puel was sacked last week after just one season in charge. He lead the club to an eighth place finish last season and the League Cup final, but was criticized by fans for the style of play he instilled.

"They should have won the League Cup - if they had would they have sacked him?

"It wasn't his fault Charlie Austin was injured for most of the season," said Channon, who made over 500 appearances for the club.

"Why sack someone if you've got no-one better? Personally I think they were wrong to sack him."

And McMenemy - who knows something about cup finals after he coached the Saints to an FA Cup victory in 1976 - was also critical of the dismissal, especially after the circumstances in which they lost the League Cup final.

"At Wembley we were very unlucky," he said.

"On the other hand, if you've been at the games, the football has not been attractive and not enough goals so the season ended on a disappointment for the supporters.

"They didn't like the way their team played, there were too many changes for me - I read in the paper 250 changes over the season. In the FA Cup against a weakened Arsenal we lost 5-0 at home.

"On the last day the majority left and the ones that stayed didn't applaud when the manager came out. Let him learn, give him an opportunity to get it right."