Southampton appoint Hasenhuttl as manager
LONDON: Ralph Hasenhuttl has been tasked in reviving Premier League strugglers Southampton’s fortunes after being named their new manager on Wednesday.
The 51-year-old Austrian — who comes into the role on the back of Mark Hughes being sacked on Monday — has signed a two-and-a-halfyear contract with the club.
Hasenhuttl attracted Saints’ interest through his success at his previous club RB Leipzig, guiding them to second in the Bundesliga in the 2016/17 season and the Europa League quarter-finals last term.
He left Leipzig after they finished sixth in the 2017/18 Bundesliga campaign.
“The urgency to find a path back to our potential and to the results that weexpectcannotbeunderestimated,” said Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger in a statement.
“For that reason, we are extremely pleased that Ralph Hasenhuttl has agreed to become our new manager.”
Hasenhuttl takes over a side that did show some improvement in a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United last Saturday — although it was too late to save Hughes’s job.
Southampton, who parted ways with long-serving head of football development Les Reed earlier in the season, are third from bottom of the Premier League ahead of a tough match away to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Krueger said the qualities Hasenhuttl displayed in taking unheralded German side Ingolstadt from the foot of the second tier to promotion to the elite augured well for Saints’ future.