TAKE TWO FOR SMITH
Ralph wary of facing Dean again
YOU could forgive Ralph Hasenhuttl if he does a double-take when he sees Dean Smith alongside him on the touchline at Carrow Road tomorrow.
‘Didn’t I just beat him and his team two weeks ago?’ the Southampton boss might be thinking?
The answer is yes.
But Hasenhuttl believes new Norwich manager Smith might have the advantage over him from the opposing dugout.
In a bizarre and unique Premier League moment, Southampton boss Hasenhuttl will be facing Smith twice in two games
– as manager of two different clubs.
Two weeks ago tonight, before the international break, Hasenhuttl’s Saints beat Smith’s Aston Villa 1-0 at St Mary’s thanks to Adam Armstrong’s early goal. That fateful moment proved to be Smith’s last act as Villa manager.
After five defeats on the bounce, he was sacked two days later.
But on Monday, the former Walsall and Brentford boss was appointed Norwich’s new manager.
Hasenhuttl, whose team go into the game unbeaten in their past four, said: “For Dean, maybe it’s a big advantage because he knows what he
Maybe it is a big advantage for him
is expecting from us. It’s easier when you know the opponent, you see them playing two or three times, you see the habits that they have.
“So we maybe have the knowledge about Dean – how he wants to play. But now he has a new team, new players, so it can definitely look different.” The Saints manager, who will have England midfielder James WardProwse back after recovering from a bug, added: “It’s definitely strange preparing for this game, because it’s always difficult when the opponent changes their manager.
“You don’t have as much information as you do normally. Dean knows us, we know him. In Dean, they have a very experienced manager. He did a good job at Villa.
“But we are concentrating on our game, our development. This is the next game that we want to win.
“We are preparing for our game to be tactically as flexible as possible. You don’t know what you are going to get.
“Norwich have won their first game [against Brentford], and that gives them a little bit of self-confidence.”