The chairman of the Leicester City Supporters' Club has described the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri as "shameful and embarrassing."
Leicester axed Ranieri on Thursday, just nine months after winning a shock Premier League title, with the club a point above the relegation zone.
Cliff Ginnetta said he believed the manager should have stayed, telling PA Sport: "In all the years I've followed Leicester City, it's one of the most embarrassing things that's ever happened.
"I thought they'd give him the season and then reappraise it. Definitely after Sevilla [a 2-1 away defeat in the Champions League] when, in the second half we looked OK.
"I don't know why the big panic, especially now. The guy is loved by supporters and they are devastated.
"They had to give him the rest of the season.''
Leicester stars including Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Drinkwater, signed new contracts in the summer -- but Ginnetta said he felt the players had let Ranieri down this season.
"The whole thing seems to be down to player power," he said. "If I was the chairman and I was paying players £100,000-a-week and they weren't performing, it's the players I'd be targeting more than the manager.
"I know you pay the manager to help them play but it's not his responsibility to give them that money and a £100,000 car each.
"I hate to say it, but it seems to have gone to their heads. When you see Drinkwater, Vardy and Mahrez playing like they are, I'd want to know why that's happening."
Ex-Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who spent time on loan at Leicester in 2001, has emerged as Leicester's top choice for the job but Sky Sports reported that he was not interested and would wait for other opportunities.
"It's going to be difficult -- you need someone with European experience," Ginnetta said. "There's no English manager who has the experience to do the job.''