Southampton Sack Head Coach, Ralph Hasenhuttl
The Athletic revealed Southampton had decided to sack Hasenhuttl after Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Newcastle. They had wanted to wait until the break for the World Cup before making a decision, but have acted sooner.
Southampton are languishing in 18th place after just three Premier League wins from their opening 14 matches.
Hasenhuttl joined Southampton in December 2018 and has consistently kept the club in the Premier League.
They finished a creditable 11th in his first full season in charge after he replaced Mark Hughes, followed by two consecutive 15th-place finishes.
He did, however, oversee two humiliating 9-0 defeats during his time in charge — one in 2019 against Leicester City and the other in 2021 against Manchester United.
Southampton were in desperate need of a performance on Sunday after three home games without a victory, but were a distant second best to Newcastle throughout the game.
Romain Perraud did pull one back after efforts from Miguel Almiron, Chris Wood and Joe Willock, only for Bruno Guimaraes to immediately overshadow his consolation goal with a tremendous long-range strike.
The full-time whistle was met with a chorus of boos from those fans who remained in the stadium until the bitter end.
Hasenhuttl, who previously managed RB Leipzig, has found himself under increased pressure in recent weeks and bristled at suggestions he could lose his job last month, following a 4-0 defeat by Manchester City, which was their fourth consecutive Premier League loss.
When asked whether he feared being sacked, Hasenhuttl said: “I have taken a lot of decisions since I’m here but I don’t have to take this one.”
Pressed on whether he sees a way out of the slump, he added: “No…. Not at the moment.”
