‘Just look at the players’ – Matt Le Tissier reacts to Southampton sacking Will Still
Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has admitted that he was not shocked to see Will Still relieved of his duties as the club’s manager after a poor start to the 2025-26 season.
The Premier League icon has exclusively told Football Insider that he felt the sack was coming for the 33-year-old after their latest home defeat at the hands of Preston North End.
Southampton appointed Will Still in May following relegation to the Championship with the clear aim of an immediate return to the top-flight.
The Belgian-born boss had impressed during stints in charge of Ligue 1 sides Reims and Lens, with many expecting him to be a success on the south-coast after a summer of big spending.
Still was unable to guide the Saints to a successful start to the campaign, however, and he was dismissed on Sunday (2 November) after five months in charge, with just four wins from his 16 games at the helm.
Still seriously struggled at Southampton so saw the sack
Southampton spent over £48million on new players during the summer window, with Finn Azaz joining the club from Middlesbrough and the likes of Tom Fellows and Caspar Jander brought in to help them challenge for promotion once more.
Still got off to a decent start as boss with three wins in his first five games at the helm, but their league form has not since picked up and they won just one of their last 11 matches leading up to his exit.
His final game in charge saw Preston take all three points at St Mary’s on Saturday (1 November) as Lewis Dobbin and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen scored for it to end 2-0 to the visitors.
They currently sit just one place and three points above the second-tier relegation zone while looking for a new boss, with Russell Martin linked with a return to Southampton after he led them to promotion in 2024.
Le Tissier admits he saw Still dismissal coming with huge appointment needed to avoid relegation
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England and Southampton striker Le Tissier insisted that he felt sorry for Still after his tough time at the club, but could see his dismissal coming due to the club’s lofty expectations this season.
He said: “I was at the game on Saturday and the crowd turned on the manager, on the players, on the owners. It wasn’t a very nice atmosphere down there, if I’m honest. So it wasn’t a massive surprise (to see Still sacked).
“We’ve probably got, I don’t know, one of the top three budgets in the Championship in terms of wages, and you look at the players that we’ve got in the squad, we shouldn’t really be sat fourth from bottom of that table.
“13 games isn’t a huge amount of time, I understand that, but when you’re pumping the sort of money into the football club that the owners at Southampton are pumping in, they deserve a better return on their investment at the moment. And they’re not getting it, quite frankly.
“So, football is pretty hard. I felt sorry for Will because I liked him. I spent a bit of time with him down there and I wish him all the best in wherever he turns up next.
“I’m sure that he’ll bounce back from this and his career will go again. But yeah, from Southampton’s point of view, we’ve now got to focus on the next man and pulling ourselves up the table because the last thing we want to do, given the size of our budget this season, is be in a relegation scrap.”