FIVE-TIME Hawthorn premiership hero Dermott Brereton has lashed out at St Kilda and its head of football Chris Pelchen over the sacking of Scott Watters.
Speaking on radio station SEN 1116 on Friday, Brereton, a close friend of Watters, described Pelchen's reputation as the man who built premiership lists at Port Adelaide and Hawthorn as a "myth", and described the Saints' leadership as "the blind leading the blind".
He said it was little wonder St Kilda had won only one premiership in its history.
"Thank God for St Kilda, because 17 other clubs are going to win before them," Brereton said.
"They are the most poorly led from the top club.
"This is a pathetic decision driven by a certain sector in the football department that is cancerous.
"You always overdramatise something, but there is someone with a lot of blood on their hands tonight."
Pelchen worked at Hawthorn from 2005 until 2011, his time with the club culminating in the 2008 premiership.
He was at Port Adelaide from 1996 until 2004, when the club won its first flag.
"You've got a bloke who by all records says that he put together the Port Adelaide list, you've got a bloke who said he came to Hawthorn and gave them 'Buddy' Franklin, yet it was Gary Buckenara who did," Brereton said.
"There are a lot of myths in footy, and we're talking about one of them."
It had been speculated for some time that there was tension between Watters and Pelchen, although the coach denied any issue in a radio interview before his sacking on Friday morning.
Brereton implied Pelchen was a backstabber who acted only to protect his own interests.
"There is never any dissention with Chris, because he'll look you in the eye, and then he will go away and do something else – you won't have an argument with him," he said.
"Chris wants to make sure of his job at St Kilda because I guarantee you the word has gone around, he wont get another one elsewhere."
Former St Kilda and Fremantle player Brett Peake gave a different perspective to that of Brereton on 1116 SEN.
Peake played just one game under Watters during 2012 but explained the feeling among the playing group that year.
"The Saints when I got there (2010) was a very close-knit team from the first player that got drafted when I first walked in to the oldest guy on the list," Peake said.
"It's a team that stood for a lot of values and I just saw it diminish over the last year that I was there.
"For whatever reason that was I can't put my finger on the pulse.
"With Ross (Lyon) leaving the playing group was upset. When you have a coach of that calibre guiding you, and then they go, it's pretty disappointing.
"When Scott was appointed I think there was still tension around having a new coach … I just think it didn't sit well with some players.
"Something wasn't right in the last year that I was there."
