Jan Poortvliet joins the club Jan Poortvliet joined the growing list of managers in the Championship relegation battle out of work this morning. I was led to believe by both a mate and the media that the Dutch man still had some backing at St Mary's despite their precarious league position and owning one of the worst home record in all four divisions. Unlike at The Valley, Carrow Road and Pride Park, the locals did not turn on the likeable manager and their mainly inexperienced squad.

Poortvliet, an unsung hero of the Dutch 1978 world cup team (no. 2 in photo) had stuck to his guns of insisting that his players played the game to a style and tempo that he lived and breathed by and therefore Saints fans were saving their fury for chairman Rupert Lowe and his board. In fact a demonstration was planned for their home game next week.

Southampton's financial problems are noticably worse than ours, but Poortvliet and previous manager's Nigel Pearson and George Burley had at least groomed a number of decent youngsters and by all accounts a lot more pride on the pitch.

Poortvliet joined Pardew, Glenn Roeder, Paul Jewell, Colin Calderwood, Aidy Boothroyd in leaving their positions, whilst Simon Grayson walked out on Blackpool. Doncaster are the only club in the bottom 8 that haven't made a managerial change, perhaps saying more about their ambitions than the others.

Poortvliet has been replaced by his assistant and fellow Dutchman Mark Wotte, the same cheaper option that Charlton and Norwich followed.  ¶ 10:03