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Premier League struggler Southampton fire Ralph Hasenhuttl

Football

By Associated Press | Nov 07, 2022

Southampton's manager Ralph Hasenhuettl gestures during a Premier League match in Leicester, England, Jan. 11, 2020. (AP Photo)

Southampton fired manager Ralph Hasenhuttl on Monday, a day after the Austrian manager acknowledged he could see no way of improving the team's alarming form in the Premier League.

Hasenhuttl's near four-year stint at the Southampton ended with the south-coast club in the relegation zone and facing a fight to preserve its decade-long stint in England's lucrative top division.

Southampton has won just one of its last nine league games, the latest setback coming on Sunday in a 4-1 loss at home to Newcastle at St. Mary's Stadium. That left the team in third-to-last place.

The club said in a statement it was "an appropriate time to make a change" and thanked Hasenhuttl for making "a significant contribution to the club, overseeing some memorable results and also playing a key role in the development of our club infrastructure, identity and playing squad."
"Everyone involved with the club would like to express their sincere thanks to Ralph for all of his efforts," the statement said, "as well as the unwavering commitment he has shown throughout his time as manager."
Ruben Selles, one of the assistant coaches, will take charge of Southampton on an interim basis, starting with the English League Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday. The team's final league match before a six-week pause for the World Cup is against Liverpool away on Saturday.

Hasenhuttl, who joined Southampton after coaching for 11 years in Germany, became a popular figure at the club because of his passion and his team's high-energy style of play which attempted to mimic the approach of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool - and earned Hasenhuttl the nickname "The Klopp of the Alps."
But there were also significant lows - including 9-0 losses against Leicester in 2019 and Manchester United in 2021.

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The last year has also been a struggle, with Southampton finishing 15th in the 20-team league in the 2021-22 season - five points above the relegation zone - and now sitting just two points above last-place Nottingham Forest after 14 games.
"I cannot say that we don't try a lot to change and to play football," Hasenhuttl said after the Newcastle game. "I think we do it well, and we cannot say that the effort was not there. Until the last minute, we tried and we were putting a lot of effort on the pitch.

"Everybody cannot say that the team is not fighting for it. But you know, we are not taking the reward for the effort we are putting on the pitch."
It is the first managerial change since Southampton was bought in January by Sport Republic, a company fronted by Dragan Solak - the founder of eastern European telecommunications giant United Group.
Southampton has been in the Premier League since 2012 and established a reputation for having a strong academy that brought through players including Gareth Bale, Luke Shaw, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

In recent windows, spending has been reined in and Southampton has focused on bringing in young players with potential in what seemed like a long-term play.

Hasenhuttl won't be around to see it through.