Southampton have fired two of their academy coaches, Jason Dodd and Paul Williams, because the pair did ‘not spend enough time with the players’.

The Daily Mail is reporting how Dodd and Williams have been relieved of their roles within the club’s highly-regarded academy system.

Saint’s academy has brought through many quality young players recently, under Dodd and Williams’s guidance, none more so than recent England World Cup squad member, Luke Shaw.

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Other players credited to have been brought through the youth system, regarded as one of the finest in the country, are Premier League starters Calum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse, Harry Reed and Sam Gallagher.

The pair were told off their dismissals by interim academy director Matt Hale on Monday and are said to be stunned by the decisions.

Shape Created with Sketch. Southampton: The latest match pictures Show all 72 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Southampton: The latest match pictures 1/72 Southampton 1 Ipswich 1 Southampton's French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin (L) scores their first goal to equalise Getty Images 2/72 Southampton 1 Ipswich 1 Darren Ambrose of Ipswich #29 (L) celebrates with teammate Luke Hyam of Ipswich after scoring the opening goal Getty Images 3/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 A bloodied Nemanja Vidic says thank you to the United fans, he will join Inter Milan this summer GETTY IMAGES 4/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Nemanja Vidic and Adam Lallana commit for the ball GETTY IMAGES 5/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Juan Mata celebrates after putting United level GETTY IMAGES 6/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Juan Mata scores the equaliser from a free-kick GETTY IMAGES 7/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Rickie Lambert wheels away after giving the Saints the lead GETTY IMAGES 8/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 England forward Rickie Lambert scores the opening goal GETTY IMAGES 9/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Chris Smalling wins a header under pressure from Sam Gallagher GETTY IMAGES 10/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert celebrates with his teammates after scoring the winning goal GETTY IMAGES 11/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Ben Davies tackles Adam Lallana GETTY IMAGES 12/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Sam Gallagher loses the ball under pressure from Dwight Tiendalli and Jordi Amat GETTY IMAGES 13/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Dejan Lovren has a effort at goal from a free kick GETTY IMAGES 14/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Pablo Hernandez controls the ball away from Morgan Schneiderlin GETTY IMAGES 15/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Tim Howard looks on as the second own goal of the day goes past him GETTY IMAGES 16/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Tim Howard can only look on as Seamus Coleman scores Everton's second own goal of the day GETTY IMAGES 17/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 The Saint's forward Sam Gallagher wheels away after Antolín Alcaraz's own goal GETTY IMAGES 18/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Antolin Alcarez heads in an own goal to give Southampton the lead GETTY IMAGES 19/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Sam Gallagher can only shot straight at Brad Guzan with pressure from Ron Vlaar GETTY IMAGES 20/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Adam Lallana dribbles past Leandro Bacuna GETTY IMAGES 21/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Leandro Bacuna and Luke Shaw vie for the ball GETTY IMAGES 22/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Jose Fonte tackles Gabriel Agbonlahor GETTY IMAGES 23/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the Cardiff manager celebrates following victory 24/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Juan Cala of Cardiff celebrates after scoring the opening goal 25/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Kim Bo-Kyung of Cardiff is challenged by Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton 26/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Stevan Jovetic is congratulated by Samir Nasri after scoring City's fourth GETTY IMAGES 27/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Joe Hart makes a diving save GETTY IMAGES 28/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Edin Dzeko celebrates with David Silva after scoring City's third just before halftime GETTY IMAGES 29/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Edin Dzeko heads in a goal to give City a 3-1 lead GETTY IMAGES 30/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Samir Nasri celebrates with his teammates after putting City back in front GETTY IMAGES 31/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Southampton players celebrate after Rickie Lambert's equaliser from the penalty spot GETTY IMAGES 32/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert fires home a penalty to bring Southampton level GETTY IMAGES 33/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 England attacker Jay Rodriguez is injured and has to go off on a stretcher GETTY IMAGES 34/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Yaya Toure puts City ahead from the spot GETTY IMAGES 35/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Referee Chris Foy points to the penalty spot after Edin Dzeko is brought down GETTY IMAGES 36/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Jay Rodriguez scores his second of the afternoon to complete Southampton's rout GETTY IMAGES 37/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Rickie Lambert celebrates his goal GETTY IMAGES 38/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Rickie Lambert makes it two for the Saints GETTY IMAGES 39/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Jay Rodriguez puts Southampton ahead GETTY IMAGES 40/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Yoan Gouffran holds off Calum Chambers GETTY IMAGES 41/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Gylfi Sigurdsson scores a late winner for Spurs with a thunderous strike 42/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Christian Eriksen gets to Roberto Soldado's cross ahead of Calum Chambers to tap in Tottenham's equaliser 43/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen scores Tottenham's first goal after a slip from Nathaniel Clyne 44/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen battles for the ball with Clyne and James Ward-Prowse 45/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Adam Lallana slips the ball under Hugo Lloris to make it 2-0 to Southampton 46/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Jay Rodriguez steers the ball past Younes Kaboul for Southampton's first goal 47/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Sam Gallagher scores Southampton's fourth and final goal GETTY IMAGES 48/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Robert Snodgrass celebrates after getting a goal back for Norwich GETTY IMAGES 49/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Jay Rodriguez makes it three for the home side GETTY IMAGES 50/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Morgan Schneiderlin is congratulated for his opening goal GETTY IMAGES 51/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis looks on as his team lose GETTY IMAGES 52/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Adam Lallana dribbles past Dean Moxey GETTY IMAGES 53/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Jay Rodriguez is swamped by his teammates after scoring the Southampton's opening goal GETTY IMAGES 54/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Jay Rodrigues slides to put the ball past Julian Speroni GETTY IMAGES 55/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Yannick Bolasie gets past Jack Cork GETTY IMAGES 56/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Steven Gerrard slots a last minute penalty to seal Liverpool's win 57/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling scores with his first touch of the game 58/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez celebrates opening the scoring 59/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Kevin Nolan celebrates is goal GETTY IMAGES 60/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Kevin Nolan acrobatically scores West Ham's third goal GETTY IMAGES 61/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Carlton Cole puts West Ham 2-1 up against Southampton at Upton Park GETTY IMAGES 62/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Both teams partook in a minute's applause before kick-off in their FA Cup tie in memory of former England great Sir Tom Finney, who passed away GETTY IMAGES 63/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner unleashes a looping shot to give the Black Cats the lead GETTY IMAGES 64/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Sunderland manager Gus Poyet looks pleased enough with Gardener's opener GETTY IMAGES 65/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 But Poyet is soon back to his furious self as he reacts to the linesman from the touchline GETTY IMAGES 66/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Some pre-match snow in Hull 67/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Ahmed Elmohamady clashes with Jack Cork of Southampton 68/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Jose Fonte challenges George Boyd 69/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 George Boyd lies on the ground 70/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert on the ball 71/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Nikica Jelavic tries to win the ball 72/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Hull concede the first goal 1/72 Southampton 1 Ipswich 1 Southampton's French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin (L) scores their first goal to equalise Getty Images 2/72 Southampton 1 Ipswich 1 Darren Ambrose of Ipswich #29 (L) celebrates with teammate Luke Hyam of Ipswich after scoring the opening goal Getty Images 3/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 A bloodied Nemanja Vidic says thank you to the United fans, he will join Inter Milan this summer GETTY IMAGES 4/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Nemanja Vidic and Adam Lallana commit for the ball GETTY IMAGES 5/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Juan Mata celebrates after putting United level GETTY IMAGES 6/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Juan Mata scores the equaliser from a free-kick GETTY IMAGES 7/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Rickie Lambert wheels away after giving the Saints the lead GETTY IMAGES 8/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 England forward Rickie Lambert scores the opening goal GETTY IMAGES 9/72 Southampton 1 Manchester United 1 Chris Smalling wins a header under pressure from Sam Gallagher GETTY IMAGES 10/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert celebrates with his teammates after scoring the winning goal GETTY IMAGES 11/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Ben Davies tackles Adam Lallana GETTY IMAGES 12/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Sam Gallagher loses the ball under pressure from Dwight Tiendalli and Jordi Amat GETTY IMAGES 13/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Dejan Lovren has a effort at goal from a free kick GETTY IMAGES 14/72 Swansea 0 Southampton 1 Pablo Hernandez controls the ball away from Morgan Schneiderlin GETTY IMAGES 15/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Tim Howard looks on as the second own goal of the day goes past him GETTY IMAGES 16/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Tim Howard can only look on as Seamus Coleman scores Everton's second own goal of the day GETTY IMAGES 17/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 The Saint's forward Sam Gallagher wheels away after Antolín Alcaraz's own goal GETTY IMAGES 18/72 Southampton 2 Everton 0 Antolin Alcarez heads in an own goal to give Southampton the lead GETTY IMAGES 19/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Sam Gallagher can only shot straight at Brad Guzan with pressure from Ron Vlaar GETTY IMAGES 20/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Adam Lallana dribbles past Leandro Bacuna GETTY IMAGES 21/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Leandro Bacuna and Luke Shaw vie for the ball GETTY IMAGES 22/72 Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0 Jose Fonte tackles Gabriel Agbonlahor GETTY IMAGES 23/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the Cardiff manager celebrates following victory 24/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Juan Cala of Cardiff celebrates after scoring the opening goal 25/72 Southampton 0 Cardiff 1 Kim Bo-Kyung of Cardiff is challenged by Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton 26/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Stevan Jovetic is congratulated by Samir Nasri after scoring City's fourth GETTY IMAGES 27/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Joe Hart makes a diving save GETTY IMAGES 28/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Edin Dzeko celebrates with David Silva after scoring City's third just before halftime GETTY IMAGES 29/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Edin Dzeko heads in a goal to give City a 3-1 lead GETTY IMAGES 30/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Samir Nasri celebrates with his teammates after putting City back in front GETTY IMAGES 31/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Southampton players celebrate after Rickie Lambert's equaliser from the penalty spot GETTY IMAGES 32/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert fires home a penalty to bring Southampton level GETTY IMAGES 33/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 England attacker Jay Rodriguez is injured and has to go off on a stretcher GETTY IMAGES 34/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Yaya Toure puts City ahead from the spot GETTY IMAGES 35/72 Manchester City 4 Southampton 1 Referee Chris Foy points to the penalty spot after Edin Dzeko is brought down GETTY IMAGES 36/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Jay Rodriguez scores his second of the afternoon to complete Southampton's rout GETTY IMAGES 37/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Rickie Lambert celebrates his goal GETTY IMAGES 38/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Rickie Lambert makes it two for the Saints GETTY IMAGES 39/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Jay Rodriguez puts Southampton ahead GETTY IMAGES 40/72 Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Yoan Gouffran holds off Calum Chambers GETTY IMAGES 41/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Gylfi Sigurdsson scores a late winner for Spurs with a thunderous strike 42/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Christian Eriksen gets to Roberto Soldado's cross ahead of Calum Chambers to tap in Tottenham's equaliser 43/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen scores Tottenham's first goal after a slip from Nathaniel Clyne 44/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen battles for the ball with Clyne and James Ward-Prowse 45/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Adam Lallana slips the ball under Hugo Lloris to make it 2-0 to Southampton 46/72 Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Jay Rodriguez steers the ball past Younes Kaboul for Southampton's first goal 47/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Sam Gallagher scores Southampton's fourth and final goal GETTY IMAGES 48/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Robert Snodgrass celebrates after getting a goal back for Norwich GETTY IMAGES 49/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Jay Rodriguez makes it three for the home side GETTY IMAGES 50/72 Southampton 4 Norwich 2 Morgan Schneiderlin is congratulated for his opening goal GETTY IMAGES 51/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis looks on as his team lose GETTY IMAGES 52/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Adam Lallana dribbles past Dean Moxey GETTY IMAGES 53/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Jay Rodriguez is swamped by his teammates after scoring the Southampton's opening goal GETTY IMAGES 54/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Jay Rodrigues slides to put the ball past Julian Speroni GETTY IMAGES 55/72 Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Yannick Bolasie gets past Jack Cork GETTY IMAGES 56/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Steven Gerrard slots a last minute penalty to seal Liverpool's win 57/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling scores with his first touch of the game 58/72 Southampton 0 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez celebrates opening the scoring 59/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Kevin Nolan celebrates is goal GETTY IMAGES 60/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Kevin Nolan acrobatically scores West Ham's third goal GETTY IMAGES 61/72 West Ham 3 Southampton 1 Carlton Cole puts West Ham 2-1 up against Southampton at Upton Park GETTY IMAGES 62/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Both teams partook in a minute's applause before kick-off in their FA Cup tie in memory of former England great Sir Tom Finney, who passed away GETTY IMAGES 63/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner unleashes a looping shot to give the Black Cats the lead GETTY IMAGES 64/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 Sunderland manager Gus Poyet looks pleased enough with Gardener's opener GETTY IMAGES 65/72 Sunderland 1 Southampton 0 But Poyet is soon back to his furious self as he reacts to the linesman from the touchline GETTY IMAGES 66/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Some pre-match snow in Hull 67/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Ahmed Elmohamady clashes with Jack Cork of Southampton 68/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Jose Fonte challenges George Boyd 69/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 George Boyd lies on the ground 70/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Rickie Lambert on the ball 71/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Nikica Jelavic tries to win the ball 72/72 Hull 0 Southampton 1 Hull concede the first goal

Dodd, who played 398 times for the club, joined as a youth coach in 2009 with Williams, an FA Cup finalist with the Saints, joining the coaching staff two years later.

It is understood that the reason for their sacking is because of unhealthy relationships with other coaches and for not spending sufficient time with the Under-16 squad.

Staff and players at St Marys are reported to be shocked and stunned by the news but the club were unavailable to comment.

With several high profile players, including as Shaw, reportedly set to leave the club this summer, Southampton are in for a turbulent time over the next few months and the timing of these sackings is sure to add to their problems.

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