MY ACCOUNT
Ralph Hasenhuttl has made the shock claim that he could retire from management when his Southampton contract expires.
The Austrian, 54, has become a popular figure at St Mary’s since taking over in late 2018 and is often linked with other managerial roles when they become vacant.
But with Saints petering in mid-table there is no guarantee he will last through to the end of his contract, which still has two-and-a-half years left to run.
Ahead of the game against Tottenham tomorrow night, we take a closer look at Hasenhuttl’s tenure and ponder what could be next on the South Coast.
Winding down
Hasenhuttl has earned himself a strong reputation for his work at Saints, so talk of him quitting may come as a surprise.
We are more used to hearing of managers wanting to stay in the game rather than to leave — Roy Hodgson’s return to the dugout with Watford at 74 being a prime example of this.
But the former Ingolstadt and RB Leipzig boss, who at 54 is just above Premier League managers’ average of 51, has refreshingly spoken of his plans for life after football.
He told German outlet Kicker: “I always wanted to prove to myself that I could very well work for a club for a longer period of time.
“Hopefully, it will be five-and-a-half years here, that’s a damn long time in modern football, and then that’s probably it.
“Five-and-a-half years in the Premier League, that’s a lot of energy, regardless of job satisfaction. I can’t imagine that I want to do anything else in the coaching job after that.
“Then I’ll be 57 years old. I’d like to experience other things and not sit on the bench like Roy Hodgson at 74. Definitely not.”
Bundle of energy
It is easy to see how Hasenhuttl’s style of management could take it out of you.
Southampton’s energetic tactics — matched only by their manager’s antics on the touchline — have won plaudits from pundits and fans alike.
In an exclusive interview with LiveScore earlier this season, Saints defender Jack Stephens shed light on Hasenhuttl’s hands-on approach to management.
He said: “The gaffer is very intense! He’s the type of manager who likes to be involved in all the different elements and have an understanding of them, to ensure that everything is working to its maximum capacity.
“He is bang into video analysis, which is something I find really interesting too. We look at how other teams play, break down our training sessions. He’ll actually take a lot of the training sessions himself, too.
“Overall, he’s someone who is extremely passionate about the job and has kept believing in the project.”
How has Hasenhuttl done?
Southampton are undoubtedly in a better place now compared to where they were when Hasenhuttl first took over.
In the bottom three when he replaced Mark Hughes midway through the 2018-19 season, the Austrian guided them to safety as they finished 16th, before finishing 11th a year later.
Last term’s 15th-place finish came as a disappointment after showing the potential for the top half early in the campaign.
And this season, he has Southampton comfortably in 12th place despite losing key men Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard during the summer.
For a fanbase who can remember four consecutive finishes of eighth or above between 2013 and 2017 under Mauricio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel, steering comfortably clear of relegation year on year may not seem so impressive.
What is more, two 9-0 defeats over the previous two seasons — making Southampton the only team to have lost by that margin twice — will always be a blot on Hasenhuttl’s copybook.
There are further metrics which paint Hasenhuttl’s Saints in a bad light — no Premier League team has dropped more points from winning positions than their 77 since the Austrian took over.
Yet with Saints working on a shoestring budget compared to their glory years, there is certainly a sense that Hasenhuttl has performed well with the tools available to him.
What happens next?
With two-and-a-half years remaining on Hasenhuttl’s contract, his comments should not spark any immediate panic at St Mary’s.
Such is the cut-throat business of football management, there is no guarantee the boss — already their longest-serving in the Premier League era — will even last that long in the job.
His reign will reach more than five years if he completes his contract — an amount currently only bettered by three Premier League managers.
For that reason, Southampton chiefs would be foolish to not be drawing up plans post-Hasenhuttl anyway.
With Saints currently just one point off the top half and still alive in the FA Cup as it reaches the fifth round, they are on course for their best-ever season under the Austrian.
Whether he leaves in the near future or not, Hasenhuttl will leave no stone unturned in their endeavours to achieve that.
