da dobrowin： Despite enduring somewhat of an underwhelming season so far, Southampton have reignited their relegation battle under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and look set to kick on next term.
da fazobetai： Previous to the Austrain’s reign, The Saints had registered just one win and shipped 25 goals in 14 matches under former boss Mark Hughes, warranting his sacking at the start of December.
It’s form that resided them to the bottom-three of the table for a total of two months, and they looked all but relegated going into the new year.
However, after replacing Hughes with Hasenhuttl on the 5th of December, Southampton’s form began to pick up – beating Arsenal at St Mary’s in a 3-2 thriller to end the Gunner’s four-month 22-match unbeaten run, before winning a crucial basement battle away at Huddersfield.
Before their loss against a resurgent Newcastle on Saturday, The Saints had won four of their last six games with the only defeats coming against Manchester Utd and Liverpool.
This good run has amounted to eight wins and 28 goals in 19 Premier League games under their new boss, suggesting things are looking up for the 16th-placed team who were playing in Europe just four years ago.
Speaking to the Daily Echo’s Chief Sports Writer Adam Leitch, he believes this renaissance is down to Hasenhuttl’s free-flowing formations and adaptable systems that favour an attacking game.
Leitch told Football FanCast: “He likes to try and keep teams guessing as to which [formation] he will use.
“If he wants to play with three centre halves then there is the 5-2-3 with the option of 5-3-2.
He really likes to play a 4-2-2-2 as well, and that will probably be the longer-term aim.
“Because of this, they’ve got an awful lot of goals from the midfield areas.”
The teams impressive tally of 28 goals in the the 19 Premier League games the Austrian has managed is particularly staggering when you consider that after 38 league games last season, they had netted just 37 times.
One player that stands out in The Saints’ attack is their Gabonese winger Mario Lemina, who they signed from Juventus in 2017 for a club record fee of £18m.
Having been sidelined since the end of December with an abdominal injury, Lemina has returned to action with aplong with a pass success rate of 86.1% and a flurry of great performances – one of which coming at St James’ on Saturday as the ex-Juventus star scored a well-deserved and certainly well-finished goal to get the Saints back into the game.
This indicates his vast potential and apparent restoration under Hasenhuttl’s five-month-long stewardship, suggesting he may well set the league alight next season, particularly once the manager has had the summer to engrain his philosophy into the players.
What’s more, their attacking instinct was summed up on Tuesday evening as stiker Shane Long, who had previously been struggling for goals, made history by scoring the fastest ever Premier League goal less than 10 seconds into their 1-1 draw with Watford.
Whilst these stats outline their improvement under Hasenhuttl, the more telling signs can be seen when observing the players’ body language in games – carrying smiles and encouragement in abundance.
Leitch believes this attitude shift has resonated throughout the club and will pave the way for future successes with Hasenhuttl at the helm.
“Since he [Hasenhuttl] took charge at the end of December they’ve massively improved their results. As a result, confidence is high and they’re playing some good stuff.
“For the first time in a few years, there is a real sense of optimism around the club, and a belief that with him in charge, Saints might get back to competing in the top half of the table again next season.”
Clearly, Southampton are rejuvenated under the guidance of their new leader. Despite being a relatively unknown face in world football, the 51-year-old has already made a name for himself in England’s top league by turning Southampton’s fortunes around, hinting he and The Saints could have a lot more to offer next campaign.