The "final straw" which led to Paul Langmack's sacking as South Sydney coach was the loss of support from his players, club chairman Nick Pappas said.

The Rabbitohs axed Langmack, installing Premier League mentor Arthur Kitinas as caretaker coach for the remainder of the National Rugby League season.

"It was probably the final straw when we knew that there was disenchantment among the players," said Souths chairman Nick Pappas at a press conference.

"Not disenchantment just because they were losing ... this was more than that.

"They felt both individually and collectively they were not maturing and would not reach their potential (under Langmack)."

Langmack was contracted until the end of the 2005 NRL season, but lost the faith of the Souths board after coaching the Rabbitohs to just two wins, a draw and eight defeats so far this year.

Pappas said the club had reached a "critical point" and the board needed to take firm action and employ a high-profile coach who could attract quality players.

Langmack said he was "devastated" after seven of the nine football club directors voted for his sacking at a two-and-a-half extraordinary general meeting which ended late Tuesday night.

"The board received reliable information that the players no longer supported the head coach, that the coach had lost their confidence," Pappas said.

"We were disturbed by that. It was information that was trickling to the board over a period of time.

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