Francis Jeffers insists his and Robbie Fowler's sacking at Al-Qadsiah was "unfair".

The pair were axed by the Saudi Second Division club when top of the table.

Jeffers told Ladbrookes Fanzone: "On the football side, it was a real challenge. We were quickly told by the club that they wanted promotion to the Pro League, which was understandable, but there needed to be a bit of realism in place as well, because they'd finished 12th in the previous season.

"Pre-season was manic, but we did our best, and by the time the season had started, all of the work that Robbie, the club and myself had put in, had started to show. We were unbeaten in the first eight games of the season - winning six and drawing two - so we were sitting joint-top at the time when we got the call to come to the ground and we lost our jobs.

"I felt that was so, so unfair, because the job that Robbie had done was absolutely unbelievable. Sometimes, though, whatever you do will never be enough; that's all I can say on it, really. There was always this feeling that they were never going to be satisfied, regardless of what we did.

"We felt we were well on track to get that club where they wanted - and needed - to be. And I've got absolutely no doubt that we'd have been sitting where they are now, at the top of the league. I just felt that whatever we did was never going to be enough."