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New Twist To Saints Coach Sacking

The media have revealed that there is a new twist to the sacking of Saints Academy director Martin Hunter who departed St Mary's along with Les Reed last week.

The Daily Mail has revealed that Hunter is now under an FA Investigation for alleged racial abuse against former Saints U18 coach Paul Williams.

Hunter arrived at St Mary's in July 2010 shortly after Les Reed arrived at the club, Williams had rejoined the club in late 2009 along with Jason Dodd whom he had just spent a couple of months working with at Aldershot Town.

After Hunters arrival he was promoted in the academy set up and was also assistant to Dodd with the U18 side, this was a productive time for both Williams and Dodd as they had in the academy the likes of Luke Shaw, Callum Chambers and James Ward Prowse to name but a few and they played a role in developing them from schoolboys to fully fledged first team members.

But both were suddenly sacked from their positions in May 2014 in what seemed unusual circumstances, especially as Dodd could be described as a club legend.

It was suggested that they had lost their jobs amid accusations that they did not spend enough time with the Under 16s and that their relationship with Hunter was not cordial.

Now it has been revealed that although Hunter has been sacked by Saints for performance related issues at St Mary's that he is under investigation for alleged racial abuse after a complaint by Paul Williams last year.

It is said that even after the sacking Williams was unwilling to file the complaint for some reason, but now he has done that a and it should be notedhere that they are only that and he is innocent until proven guilty.

He lodged his complaint initially with Saints with Les Reed and the matter was investigated at St Mary’s. The complaint was rejected, with Saints then as part of the process referring the case to the FA.

It is understood Hunter, who worked at the FA for 13 years and had a stint as England Under 19s coach, has now been interviewed by the FA.

It would have been during his time at the FA that he would have come into contact with Les Reed and we can only assume that Hunter's arrival at St Mary's was at Reed's recommendation.

Since leaving Saints for the first time when a player in the summer of 2003 Paul Williams has been a footballing nomad, he courted controversy immediately by agreeing to join Walsall and then reneging on the deal to join Stoke, in his two years with the Potters he played 19 games in his first season and then spent the following season injured before being released and retiring from English football.

Since then he has time at a host of different clubs usually as an assistant manager or coach, many of these spells have been of a relatively short nature usually ending in the sacking of the manager he is assistant to and Williams being dispensed with as part of that, or Williams himself leaving for another job.


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