Ralph Hasenhuttl didn’t speak to his players after a defeat, as it is so often for him and other managers. Southampton’s latest nadir, this time a 2-1 defeat at home to Everton.
He and his team have been beaten too often and cut too many times. Bravery is now in doubt. It is well known by the players.
The squad congregated at Staplewood, the club’s training ground, on Sunday after leaving St Mary’s roughly an hour after the full-time whistle on Saturday evening. Some players drove home, others took taxis, or were picked up at their homes by friends. The co-founders of Southampton’s ownership group Sport Republic, Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft, were in the stadium to watch the game, alongside lead investor Dragan Solak and chief executive Martin Semmens.
Approaching four years on the south coast, Hasenhuttl is the club’s longest-serving manager in more than two decades and the fourth longest currently in the Premier League. This feat of endurance is remarkable for a team like Southampton’s, which has a turbulent sea. It is important to remember how difficult it was to keep a Frankenstein team, which was built on a modest budget, in the Premier League for the past four seasons.
Hasenhuttl’s effervescence immediately galvanised the fanbase and team. It was a catalyst for many memorable and outstanding victories. The Austrian received rightly praise for his high-pressing bravado when overcoming teams such As
