Keith Southern: My former boss Simon Grayson will bounce back after Blackpool sacking

But Southern, who played alongside Grayson at Blackpool before play for him from 2005, believes his former boss still has what it takes to be a success.

Southern told The Gazette: “Simon is a good friend of mine as a colleague, a player when I first started at Blackpool and then he actually signed me for Huddersfield.

“I’ve got so much respect for him. I didn’t want to see him out of a job. In fact, I don’t want to see anyone out of a job but I think he found it tough in the last two to three months.

“He had a great start, so it was so surprising. One thing he generally does when he comes into a club is make good signings. He certainly has in the past.

“When you think back to 2006/07, some of the signings he made set us on that path to the Premier League. A lot of the players he signed went on that journey.

“It was disappointing it didn’t work out this time. I thought they might have given him some more time considering the signings he did make in January, with 12 coming in and 12 going out.

“The rumours coming out of the club – that they are ambitious, are paying good money to players and were going to have a go – probably worked against them, I think.

“They wanted some results in the here and now, rather than letting these players bed in and letting the season peter out, giving them a pre-season and building a squad for next season.

“That shows the dangers and perils of management really – you don’t get any time.

“That’s a given and Simon understood that more than anyone because he’s not new to management.

“He’ll just be disappointed but I’m sure he’ll move on quickly, bounce back and get another job somewhere.”