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Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton have always been a team that finds comfort within the chaos. But in recent times, any sense of bedlam seemed to provoke an altogether different reaction.
It was inevitable confidence would gradually diminish in each one of their five consecutive Premier League defeats. It was the first time in 23 years the club had endured such a treacherous run and there was very little you could grasp onto in way of positives. Throw in to the equation another loss with that notorious scoreline, then any existing angst or trepidation only heightened.
There might have been a general feeling they had been burnt once too many times, that they were becoming too easy to play against. It’s understandable if the initial response after such a wretched run was to retreat back into their shell. It’s simply human nature that when we encounter hardship in any walk of life, the first and primary instinct is to set foot onto the defensive.
But the issue is, for a team like this vintage of Southampton, taking a back step has greater pitfalls than to most. The very essence of their philosophy is built upon supreme bravery, the aptitude to take risks in order to bear the significant rewards. They are often in games and against teams who they are ostensibly inferior to, whether that is the disparity in resources, both financial and in squad depth, or in quality.
Particularly in the early stages of the Hasenhuttl/Southampton relationship, the only viable means to compensate for the tangible skill chasm was to simply out-hustle and outlast opponents. With their choreographed, synchronised methods of ‘active ball-orientated pressing” as they would describe Hasenhuttl’s methods in Germany, any shortcomings in technical talent would be offset by the strength of their collective tactical system.
This season, Hasenhuttl decided that his side had become so well-versed in the mayhem of their pressing functions, that they would begin to acclimatise their work off the ball to a more refined approach with it.
While it achieved vast success earlier on in the campaign, there has been a groundswell of opinion that in recent times, largely due to injuries and other mitigating factors, Southampton have neglected the very thing that made them such a nuisance to play against.
Though in possession they are invariably more dominant – a change that took plenty by surprise – the added layers to their work with the ball has stripped some of the coating off their work without the ball.
But on Thursday night, when temperatures in the Midlands surely went below freezing point, the reset button was pushed. While they remained astute on the ball and oscillated the rhythms in which they passed it, there was a palpable difference in intensity when they lost possession.
Against Newcastle they largely drifted. Go back a few days further, against Manchester United they caved. This time around, against Wolves, they had regained their poise and returned to being the subtle, niggly pests that’s long been a cornerstone of any success.
“Our approach on the game is not based on what the opponent does,” said a somewhat downtrodden, unsettled Nuno Espírito Santo after the game. “We have to compete better, be more aggressive, win duels – those things that Southampton do very well.”
After weathering a winter storm where they’ve appeared timid and withdrawn at times, Southampton’s resurgence in character and application was best encapsulated on the half hour mark.
James Ward-Prowse had put in a robust but fair challenge on Wolves attacker Vitinha, who proceeded to garner John Moss’ attention by letting out a rather dramatic, high-pitched cry. While the shrill scream left the referee unperturbed, Jan Bednarek and Oriol Romeu wasted little time in telling the on-loan Porto man what they thought of his play-acting eccentrics.
What made Thursday’s two-nil victory all the more impressive was the self-conviction each player had and the trust they had in one another. In the days following the Manchester United game, Hasenhuttl reassured the squad that they needed to stick to the path they were working on, and treading a new one would likely leave them worse off. The Austrian knew that Southampton need to be flawless for most parts of a 90 minute game to have success.
He opined the way to do that, was to have a fully-fit squad and for his players to trust the fundamental principles in which they’ve honed during his two-and-a-half years on the south coast.
Victory in the cup showed that. Despite Wolves often proving Southampton’s kryptonite in a styling’s sense, they stuck to the guns, returned to the basics and added a few carefully nuanced tweaks to the system. Saints had only won once in their last 10 meetings against the East Midlands outfit, with the sole success coming in Hasenhuttl’s first match-up with them.
Wolves’ compact, low-block and their tendency to pack the central areas of midfield has regularly forced Saints into a different way of playing, where their key strengths of quick, vertical passes into the red zone has had to be exchanged for more circumspect patterns of attack.
Hasenhuttl opted for Nathan Redmond to partner Danny Ings, with Che Adams dropping to the bench. Afterwards, the 53-year-old explained the decision to change striking personnel, stating Redmond’s ability to make runs from deep and add extra numbers in the red zone would be conducive to breaking down a side that sits in a deep, rigid shape.
Though Espírito Santo has other reasons for his side’s defensive set-up, it is also used to mask both of his goalkeepers deficiencies in coming off their line. Since returning to the Premier League, Wolves’ number one Rui Patricio has the deepest starting position of any goalkeeper and regularly relies on Conor Coady to sweep up any long balls.
With John Ruddy in goal for the cup clash and no Coady, Redmond’s added pace to the frontline instantly set about causing the hosts problems with Hasenhuttl imploring the likes of Jan Bednarek and Kyle Walker-Peters into more direct passes in-behind.
The energy difference on the touchline was noticeable, too. Throughout the first half Hasenhuttl was as ever, the all-encompassing figure of encouragement, asking for his players to stay calm and relax in the final third. The Wolverhampton boss, on the other hand, remained mostly unmoved, aside from the occasional exasperated outstretched arm, as if to say, ‘is this it guys?’
Southampton’s movements were dynamic in all facets of their game. They hunted high in packs, with Ings acting the primary trigger and spearhead for the team’s press. The inclusion of Redmond incited more fluidity in the front four positions as Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Djenepo drifted into the red zone while the moonlighting forward held width.
As Hasenhuttl stated in his virtual post-match press conference, the return of Walker-Peters helped Southampton’s ‘reverse gear’ as well as adding another slant to their attack. With Armstrong gliding inwards, the full-back’s deep overlapping runs regularly pulled the Wolves back five apart and into areas of the pitch in which they had no business being in.
By the end of the game, confidence had returned and was pervading through every player. This was perhaps no better reflected than in Mohammed Salisu’s debut display. The Ghanaian had come in from the wilderness and instantly became the man to mirror Southampton’s shift in personality.
Despite not playing a single competitive game since July last year, Salisu trotted around the Molineux turf as naturally and as easily as waking up in the morning and reaching for the cornflakes box. Afterwards, Hasenhuttl rather boldly remarked the centre-back was “definitely not nervous” in making his first appearance in English football against the prospective likes of Adama Traore and co.
Salisu was calm and composed throughout, only revving up his imposing physical engine when the situation required it. He’s a quiet yet conscientious communicator, offering good information to the players ahead of him. He could be heard in dialogue with Ward-Prowse and Romeu in regards to the ever-changing picture behind their shoulders. This, in turn, enabled the midfield pair to adapt and adjust their positioning to screen any forward passes.
Salisu’s misfortune in recent months can draw parallels to the team’s own tribulations. It’s been a period fraught with mishaps and setbacks for both, but within the microcosm of one 90 minute match, they each displayed an innate confidence that put them firmly back on track.
Goals from Ings and Armstrong also signified the first quarter-final of any competition Ralph Hasenhuttl has been involved in. Eight teams are left in the FA Cup, including both Manchester clubs. While Southampton are unequivocally one of the outside underdogs, returning to be the distinct extroverts they once were gives them a considerably better chance of doing something special.
Without it, they briefly became nothing. Playing within themselves shook the team’s equilibrium. Confidence and courage are the two flames that ignites Saints’ spark, the very bedrock of their game which allows the other elements to thrive.
Like the 9-0 defeat to Leicester, there is always a hangover in the following game. Evidence suggests such a thunderous loss does take a little longer to come back from. On Thursday night, they went back to basics and began to write the wrongs of a chaotic start to the year.
If what they say is true and confidence gives you warmth, then against Wolves, Southampton finally found their winter coat.
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