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Ralph Hasenhuttl spoke of learning curves and rational thinking in his programme notes. It was a common rhetoric that threw all focus forward.
The Austrian was assured in opinion that his players had amended their ways from their disastrous early-season form and were now a secured, well-oiled machine, where the days of self-destruction were in the rear-view mirror.
Hasenhuttl harped back to the reverse fixture against Newcastle, where supporters returned home from the six-hour trip empty handed, despite seeing their team put on a performance worthy of all three points. “The game at St James’ Park back in December was a good lesson for us,” recalled the Saints boss. “The players learned we must stay concentrated for 90 minutes, because teams in the Premier League do not need many opportunities to score.”
Still in the infancy stages of their rebuilding process post 9-0 Leicester, Southampton had succumbed to a 2-1 defeat after taking the lead. 30-year-old goalkeeper Alex McCarthy failed to hold onto a routine effort from Sean Longstaff, leaving Federico Fernandez to turn in the rebound with three minutes left on the clock.
The scars of Leicester were and are still raw on the south coast. It was a harrowing, Halloween October night, where every single mistake – and there was a lot of them – was ruthlessly punished. Perhaps none were more decisive than Ryan Bertrand’s, former captain and England international, who was sent off in the build-up to Leicester’s first goal.
The full-back was shown a straight red after a needless lunge on Ayoze Perez with 78 minutes still left to play. It was a clumsy, inexperienced decision from the man considered an integral part of the club’s leadership group.
Once breached, the other 10 men were colossally overwhelmed, with every individual error scolded. Exhausted and deflated, Hasenhuttl’s men were consigned to the dark, embarrassing doldrums of football. Any spark from his tenure beforehand had disappeared and the defensive door was ajar for every Leicester attack. They would wilt upon every resumption, the crux of their labour endured. The first goal, compounded by the sight of red, only added to the sheer weight of anxiety within the atmosphere at St Mary’s, which still remains delicate to this day.
Yet, here we are, three months into the new decade and the position Southampton find themselves in underlines a remarkable turnaround in form and morale.
But in the 28th minute on Saturday, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s positive rhetoric regarding his player’s vast progression had to be put into action. After VAR intervened, Moussa Djenepo was shown a straight red and reduced Saints to 10 men.
Although it was not as early as Bertrand’s, the fact still remained. They were a man down with more than an hour to hold on. Quite simply, it was the opportune time for Southampton to convince supporters of how far they had come. If Hasenhuttl used the fixture away at Newcastle to highlight the comparison in his side’s turnaround in mentality, the game at St Mary’s would provide the answers.
And despite defeat, they did just that. They lost 1-0, but Southampton put up one hell of a fight.
It looked for all the world they would unravel. Their passing metronome had been ruthlessly thrown off kilter following the red and panic looked to be setting in the defence. Yet unusually, the 10 stood firm.
Admittedly, it was largely down to Alex McCarthy – the man who was at fault against Newcastle last time out – who briefly turned into the second coming of Gordon Banks. A stunning triple save was then somehow bettered by keeping out a penalty, diving sharp down to his left and producing an astonishing save from Matt Ritchie’s spot-kick.
The match wore on and Newcastle began showing signs of restlessness. Jamal Lascelles’ speculative shot following a sustained spell of Newcastle possession, highlighted a side that was becoming frustrated with the resilience of their counterparts.
The nature of their disintegration against Leicester was now in stark contrast to what the home faithful were witnessing. Southampton were now a side transformed, where every individual showed willing to run themselves into the St Mary’s dirt.
They had seen Danny Ings sacrifice his brilliance and be prepared to become a functional workhorse tracking up and down the left flank. They had seen Ryan Bertrand somehow find the extra-yard of pace to catch up with Allan Saint-Maximin, possibly the fastest player in the league and produce a goal-saving tackle. They had seen Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg manage to buy himself a free-kick from a defending corner before going on to demand support from the stands.
But despite all that, it wasn’t quite enough. Southampton came so close to pulling off the improbable.
Ironically, when everything came crashing down, Saints had been experiencing their best spell since the numerical reduction. Yan Valery misjudged a simple long ball, allowing Saint-Maximin to steal in and finally beat McCarthy.
In defeat, Southampton displayed a character trait supporters have rarely seen, an almost siege-like mentality. When they were engulfed within a turning storm – a la Leicester – Southampton instead opted to come out fighting. VAR producing a red card and a penalty against them only appeared to rally the players further. Post-match, Hasenhuttl admitted he “had never seen the stadium like that before.”
It’s perhaps unsurprising that St Mary’s was at its loudest all season. In football, when you are involved in a collective, a working unit, it’s sheer sporting instinct to retaliate when backs are against the wall.
That particular spirit needs to be bottled from now right up until the end of the season. While they’ve largely staved off the threat of relegation and only a dramatic dip would curtail their safety, the last nine games still represent a pivotal moment in Hasenhuttl’s tenure.
It would provide an insight into the football club’s ambitions. Ambling over the finish line would show they are content to survive, rather than flourish higher up in the table.
After becoming accustomed to Hasenhuttl’s intense, demanding style of coaching, it’s unlikely he would settle for the former. For all their good work in the midst of the Newcastle defeat, there is no hiding Southampton suffered their ninth home loss of the season, a club record.
If Southampton are to summon the consistency Hasenhuttl cries out for, astute summer spending is a must.
Southampton’s policy is to buy under the age of 24, but there is a case for the Austrian and chief executive Martin Semmens to deviate from that philosophy. Straying away from a plan which is largely insisted on by those within the club may be viewed as a sign of weakness, of reactionary planning.
But with the lack of reliable, experienced players capable of nurturing the promising youth, it would instead demonstrate an understanding of what this current squad needs to take the next step.
The shift in mentality is a perfect start though. Not only can they now go toe-to-toe with any club in the Premier League, but they distinctively showed the difference in mindset from the Leicester game.
Newcastle proved Ralph Hasenhuttl’s programme notes had substance behind them. Now it’s time for his players to push-on once again.
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