TalkSport journalist Alex Crook has given his thoughts on Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl and his future at the club.
It certainly has been a rocky few years for the Austrian ever since he was appointed by the club back in 2018, having managed to stabilise the club during his first full season in 2019/20 and taking them to the top of the table at one point during the 2020/21 campaign, it hasn’t been totally smooth sailing on the south coast.
Two 9-0 losses during that spell to Leicester City and Manchester United alongside other poor runs of form have occasionally made it look as if he could be in position to be sacked by the Saints.
Speaking on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, Crook claimed that whilst the Austrian seemed to be pretty safe in his job for the time being given some of the other things that were going on within the club, there was some doubt creeping in that might change the situation.
He said: “He’s got a very good relationship with Martin Semmens, the chief executive, the two of them are almost the lone fighters there because the club are up for sale and until they are sold, they are basically treading water. I don’t see there’ll be a vast amount of funds to spend in January.
“There are some whispers amongst the supporters now, just starting to ask some questions of Ralph Hasenhuttl, the same questions that Leicester fans are asking about Brendan Rodgers in terms of in-game management and substitutions. So the louder those voices get, the more pressure will be put on his job.”
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Whilst Hasenhuttl came into English football with a pretty decent reputation from his time at his previous clubs, he hasn’t exactly lit the Premier League alight so far, with the Saints pretty much treading water for the most part, as Crook hints at himself.
And if the club want to be ambitious, then it might be time for them to bring in a new face that can push them further up the table and be a more competitive force rather than a team that just ‘exists’ in the Premier League.
The fans can also play their part in this as well, as they will ultimately play a big part in this. If they voice their displeasure loudly enough, especially if they start drifting too close to the relegation zone, then it might just be enough to plant some seeds of doubt into the club’s mind that Hasenhuttl might not be the man to take them forward.
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