Football

Hasenhüttl pleased as Saints go top of EPL

Southampton manager, Ralph Hasenhüttl has taken the time to laud his players following their 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League on Friday night.
Ché Adams and Stuart Armstrong netted at Saint Mary’s as the Saints downed the Geordies to move to the summit of the Premier League.
It is the first time since September 1988 – four years before the modern Premier League was born – that Southampton have assumed top spot in the top division of English football and Hasenhüttl was understandably delighted.
“I think it was important to show that we can win against this team – we hadn’t done it so far since I’m here, so this was the goal for today, and to show ourselves that we are one step further in our development now,” Hasenhüttl told the club’s official website.
“I think you could see we had good solutions with the ball and against the ball. We were very committed and well organised.
“We had to replace Ingsy and Ryan (Bertrand), but you couldn’t see there was a break in our game. For me, this was the most important message.
“We immediately showed up again and scored fantastically. We could’ve scored more, I think, but it was a good result.
“It’s always dangerous because when you concede one, it kills the whole work that you do, so I think the message was to stay concentrated and not give anything away.
“I think we only gave one header away, when we were two up, so it was a fantastic performance from everybody.
“Two goals from the counter-pressing was the plan – sometimes it’s not the first action that is the important one but the second one, and if you stay online and be sharp, it’s a good chance to score.”