New boss Hasenhuttl has mountain to climb to keep this lot in top flight
Paterson
RALPH HASENHUTTL breezed into Southampton promising “mind-blowing” ideas.
But this losing debut was a real eye-opener for Saints’ new Austrian boss, dubbed ‘Klopp of the Alps.’
His doppelganger at Liverpool is enjoying life at the top of the Premier League. Yet Hasenhuttl, who is the same height and age as Reds counterpart Jurgen Klopp, is spared bottom spot only by goal difference.
And his radical masterplan to transform Southampton’s struggles post-Mark Hughes may see the South Coast club get worse before they get better – if indeed they improve at all.
The former RB Leipzig coach said he learned lot from this defeat – not least that defenders like Jannik Vestergaard cannot afford to make the kind of schoolboy mistake which gifted Callum Paterson a 74th-minute winner.
But Hasenhuttl may have to resist the temptation to introduce all his ideas all at once in the middle of the season given a fragile, out-of-form team low on confidence. He made six changes here and introduced a new 4-2-2-2 formation focused on high pressing.
His side enjoyed more possession but had only one shot on target and looked hugely vulnerable to the counter-attack.
Cardiff could have been two or three up at the break before Southampton improved when they hauled off young full-back Yan Valery and moved the ball quickly in the second half. Mario Lemina (right) looked more effective than in recent games
Saints midfielder Stuart Armstrong appealed in vain for a 59th-minute penalty when he beat Victor Camarasa and went down.
But that was a rare bright spot, Saints slumping to a worrying defeat which extends their winless run to 12 League games.
Arsenal are next up and, however good Hasenhuttl promises training will be, he still has to have the right personnel to produce the goods on matchday. Defender Matt Targett, a Saints academy graduate, has promised to embrace the new regime. Targett said: “Everyone needs to buy into his tactics and we need to stick together.
“He is very intense and he demands a lot from you, otherwise you are out. Simple as that. It is a clean slate for everyone – if you impress, then you will start.
“He is a coach who likes to get his hands dirty, really full on. He likes to get involved and will tell you if you are doing it wrong.
“With a week between games he can put more ideas in our heads.
“It is lots of pressing and getting in the faces of opponents.
“You can see straight away that he is going to ask a lot from each position.
“It will be a journey but a journey that we have to buy into.
“I am confident we can get out of trouble.
“The new manager will bring some great ideas and everyone needs to pull themselves together and get us out of this relegation zone.”
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock insisted they were worthy winners but admitted they benefited from new boss Hasenhuttl having just a couple of days to prepare Saints.
Warnock said: “I am glad we are playing them now after only two days of training with the new manager because he has a decent squad there.
“He will have seen enough to know he has a good chance of getting them out of trouble.”
Cardiff’s fourth win in five home matches lifted them four points clear of the bottom three.