Ralph Hasenhuttl has agreed a new four-year contract with Southampton that will keep him at the club until 2024. Southampton was to make an official confirmation of the news on Tuesday (June 3).
Hasenhuttl replaced Mark Hughes as the Southampton manager in December 2018. The 52-year-old has established himself as a popular figure on the south coast and impressively steered the ship back on course after October’s record-breaking 9-0 home loss to Leicester.
The Saints are currently in 14th place in the Premier League standings with 34 points from 29 matches ahead of the competition’s resumption later this month.
Hasenhuttl’s side have a seven-point cushion above the relegation zone with nine matches remaining. The Austrian, who previously managed Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, has backed youth during his time at Southampton, giving opportunities to the likes of Michael Obafemi and Yan Valery.
In April, Hasenhuttl revealed on The Football Show that a supportive text message from Sir Alex Ferguson after Southampton’s 9-0 defeat to Leicester helped inspire him to turn things around. Despite calls for Hasenhuttl to be sacked, the Southampton hierarchy stood by their man and he rewarded that faith by going on a sensational run of form that started in November.
That sequence of results, which saw them beat Chelsea and Tottenham along the way, culminated in a 2-1 win at Leicester, which helped banished the memory of the painful St Mary’s defeat and moved the club into mid-table.
In an interview with Saints legend Matt Le Tissier and Patrick Davison, Hasenhuttl said he received a message from the former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson after the heavy defeat suffered against Leicester.
“I received an SMS from Alex Ferguson [after the 9-0]. I didn’t know him. If I had never lost 9-0, I would have never had contact with him.
“That was the positive thing from the result. It really helped me. It gave me a lift as I was down and was looking for something to hold on to.
“I will have to live with this result my whole life. But when we won 2-1 in the rematch, the story is a good one. It’s helped me become a more experienced manager,” he said.
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