Ralph took chance to shake up Saints after 9-0 bashing
DODD IMPRESSED BY ST MARY’S REVIVAL
ON this weekend a year ago, Southampton were marooned in the Premier League’s bottom three and teetering on the brink.
Having already suffered the biggest home defeat in their history, hope was thin on the ground at the St Mary’s.
Fast-forward to December 2020 and Southampton are no longer looking down.
And dismay has been replaced by a belief that this season might even end with qualification for the Europa League.
Any suggestion of a continental tour after that 9-0 loss to Leicester would have seen you laughed out of town.
But grins rather than grimaces are the default facial expression of Southampton supporters under the guidance of a manager who has lifted both spirits and expectations on the south coast.
For Jason Dodd, the club’s most prolific Premier League appearance maker, what Ralph Hasenhuttl has achieved is little short of a miracle.
And he believes one of the bigge st tasks fac ing Southampton is to ensure that he remains at the club for a long time to come. “When things aren’t going well you find out a lot about people,” said Dodd.
“The 9-0 defeat to Leicester was one of those moments that gave the manager the chance to say, ‘ Where are we going to go, what’s my philosophy and what are we going to do moving forward’.
“The manager learnt a lot about the players, who he was going to go forward with and what he was going to do with this side.
“He took a longterm view. He didn’t focus on getting results in the shortterm, which was a very brave thing for him to do. The only worrying thing now is when other jobs come up, then he is going to be mentioned because he is doing such a good job.
“It’s swings and roundabouts, isn’t it? You lose a game 9-0 and then just over a year later you are one of the most talked about managers in the Premier League.”
Such is the relationship enjoyed by the Austrian with the club’s supporters and players, that it would take a lot to prise him away.
It will not be the first time that a manager has left St Mary’s for a bigger club, though.
Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino could, fo r example, soon by lining up against each other in El Classico if rumours of the latter’s switch to Real Madrid come to fruition.
Hasenhuttl demonstrated his commitment to the club in the summer when he put pen to paper on a new four-year deal.
And the likes of Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse ( left) will hope he remains at Southampton way beyond 2024.
Both have been instrumental in Southampton’s remarkable rise from the Ashes of that Foxes’ humbling.
“It’s not just the goals that James has scored, a couple of years ago he wasn’t nailed on to play every week,” says Dodd.
“Now look at him, he has been outstanding.
“As has Danny. Che Adams has been superb too. There’s just a really good balance in the side now.”