Southampton have sacked manager Will Still after just five months in charge. The 33-year-old was only appointed in May after leaving French Ligue 1 side Lens so that he could return to the UK, but he has won just two of 13 Championship games this season.

Saints were booed off after their 2-0 defeat by Preston North End on Saturday, a result which dropped them to 21st in the table.

In a statement, the club said Ruben Martinez, Clement Lemaitre and Carl Martin have also left their positions at the club, while men's under-21 head coach Tonda Eckert will take over on an interim basis.

"Will is a great person who gave everything to try and improve performances and results," technical director Johannes Spors said. "Ultimately that process has taken longer than any of us would have liked. By making a change now we believe it gives us the best chance of turning things around this season and climbing back up the league table.

"I would like to thank Will, Ruben, Clement and Carl for their efforts and wish them well for the future."

Two Championship wins this season have been accompanied with six draws and five defeats in the league for Saints, who were relegated from the top flight last season. Those two victories came on the opening day of the season at home to Wrexham and away at Sheffield United on the final day of September. After beating Northampton Town and Norwich City in the EFL Cup, they were knocked out of the competition in a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool.

Still's sacking comes after a run of five games without a win, consisting of two draws and three defeats. He told BBC Radio Solent after Saturday's defeat that there was not an "instant fix" for the side after another loss.

"If I'd got an instant fix I would have found it about a month or two months ago. "I don't think there is an instant fix to be really honest with you, and I think whoever it is, there's a big job and I knew there was a big job coming in here.

"I said a few weeks ago there were a lot of things that need to change that haven't changed yet because we haven't had the time to do that, but there's still evidently a lot of work to do."