Ralph Hasenhuttl says he still has the backing of the Southampton hierarchy despite last week’s 9-0 home defeat at the hands of Leicester. The humiliating defeat at St Mary’s was not only the heaviest loss Southampton have been on the receiving end of in their 134-year history, it was also the biggest defeat ever suffered by a home team in the top flight.
The result also left the Saints marooned in the relegation zone although they did respond, to a degree, as they were beaten 3-1 at Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup during the week.
City will once again be the opponents for Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday when the south-coast club make their second trip to the Etihad Stadium in the space of four days.
A second successive clash with the reigning champions is not exactly ideal for a Saints side lacking in confidence, particularly as they have only taken one point from their last five league games, but Hasenhuttl insists he still has the backing of the club’s board.
Asked if he feels the Southampton’s hierarchy are still behind him, the 52-year-old replied: “Absolutely, yes. “We speak always. Everybody here, they are good in communication – better sometimes than in playing football. “Everybody sees what situation we are in and how much we do every day to fight back on the positive track.”
Despite having support behind the scenes, Hasenhuttl knows Southampton are embroiled in another relegation battle, with the former RB Leipzig coach hoping to repeat the trick of last season, when he successfully kept the club in the division after succeeding Mark Hughes as manager midway through the campaign. “No doubt we all know about the critical situation at the moment,” the Austrian added. “We know that it is a season where it’s again about being relegated or not. This shows from the first 10 rounds [of matches].”
Hasenhuttl has won 12 of his 38 matches in charge of Southampton, a win percentage of 31.58%, a statistic that is considerably better than his two predecessors at St Mary’s, Hughes and Mauricio Pellegrino, although Saints are still staring down the barrel of another long season.
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