‘9-0 was a catalyst for Ralph’
LEICESTER did their best to wreck it for Ralph Hasenhuttl — but the Austrian has had the last laugh in a crazy season like no other.
Southampton’s record 9-0 home defeat against the Foxes on a stormy Friday night in October piled the pressure on Hasenhuttl.
But that humiliation acted as a catalyst for an amazing transformation.
Saints looked dead-certs for the drop, but will finish the season comfortably clear of relegation.
And former Saints legend Francis Benali believes the battle now will focus on hanging on to their charismatic gaffer.
“I remember saying at the time of the Leicester game that this is hopefully the lowest point that we’ll experience,” says Benali. “And they’ve used that setback as a springboard. It could have gone horribly wrong, but Ralph stuck to his beliefs, tweaked the formation and the line-up a little bit — and the results have been incredible.
“It would have been an easy time to show him the door. But they have shown faith and a lot of loyalty.
“That would have been one of the worst nights of his career and he would have questioned his own ability to be a success.
“It’s great that he had that personal strength to come through that and get the players going again.
“He’s naturally going to attract the attention of other clubs. We’ve seen that in the past with Poch (Mauricio Pochettino) and Ronald Koeman.
“But I feel Ralph wants to continue the work he is doing at Southampton.”