Wesley Hoedt & Cedric Soares have travelled to Austria with the Saints squad and Ralph Hasenhuttl is not yet rulling them out for the coming season.

This won't be great news for some, but Ralph Hasenhuttl has wiped the slate clean from last season for his squad and this means that Wesley Hoedt and Cedric might not have played their last games for the club.

Hoedt especially became the target for a section of the club's support who placed the blame for it's defensive woes firmly at his feet and after being the only ever present in the centre of Saints defence for the first 13 games, the Dutchman was dropped by Mark Hughes after the debacle at Fulham and would not feature again for the rest of the season.

But Hoedt's dropping did little to improve Saints defence and it became clear that others were just as culpable, Ralph Hassenhuttl was working miracles in the middle of the pitch , but in the centre of defence there were still plenty of mistakes and errors and by the end of the season the goals conceded column per game was not a lot different than it had been prior to the Austrian's arrival.

Cedric's first half of the season had been very similar, he had played most of the games up to Ralph's arrival and indeed had even played a big part in January in wins over Leicester & Everton and the draw at Chelsea, but whereas none of the central defenders Jan Bednarek aside were really performing any better than the man who had been dropped, Cedric had a true rival for a single position in Yan Valery.

When Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived he famously announced that the slate was wiped clean and that everyone would get the chance to show their worth, Wesley Hoedt seemingly did not want that chance given that he failed to make a single appearance under the new manager before leaving for Celta Vigo on loan.

A strange situation that didn't appear to have any public rifts, but there was clearly something behind the scenes, perhaps issues with the club's coaching staff pre Ralph.

Now though Hoedt has returned to pre season training and unlike several players who are looking for a move has not remained in the UK this week but travelled with the squad for the training camp.

The Daily Echo reports that he and indeed Cedric have a clean slate with Ralph Hasenhuttl, they state that he is looking at them and has not ruled them out for next season, that they have their chance to show him what they can do.

For Cedric entering the last year of his contract, his time at Saints looks limited you would imagine that the club would be keen to get a fee for them while they still can, especially as they already have a man ahead of him in the pecking order.

But for Hoedt it is different, no one would argue that we don't need to bring in a new centre half whatever, that is a given, the only question is who stays at the club to play alongside.

As said, Jan Bednarek aside no one truly staked their claim for a place, Jan Bednarek improved beyond recognition after Hasenhuttl arrived and that offers hope that Hoedt could follow a similar pattern.

Going forward though, Jack Stephens looks set to go after his errors in the tail end of the season and Yoshida struggled to get in the side under Ralph at times suggesting that the manager was not convinced and about to turn 31 is not seen as the future.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is a practical manager, he looks to get the best out of his players, he does not seem to show favouritism and this seems to be the case now, perhaps in the next few weeks he will decide that Hoedt is not part of Saints future, but he will not rule that out till he has seen him play a little bit more.

I have the feeling that there was more to Hoedt's departure on loan than met the eye, but with the coaching restructuring and Hasenhuttl now clearly with his own men behind the scenes, things have changed.

The slate is wiped clean, let's judge players on what they do going forward, not the past, be they new arrivals or last season's squad.

Photo: Action Images

janecook added 09:05 - Jul 10 Never mind Hoedt And Cedric is Ward-Prowse In Ralph's Plans? I was hoping he would be replaced with a quick exciting playmaker.
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beynali73 added 09:06 - Jul 10 As we have seen Ralph is a coach and helps to change players mindsets and and improve as players. Hoedt physically looked the part but while he was playing in a directionless team (as we now know from MH's time in charge) he got frustrated and this led to giving away stupid fouls and bad decison making. Hopefull Ralph can coach him and we'll seem him develop into a leader at the back. It's worth a try and if Ralph can't change him then he is a lost cause.

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saintlee added 09:27 - Jul 10 Hoedt was made a scape goat for some fans last year but I personally think there's a decent defender in there somewhere. His massive mistake at Fulham was a casing point but compared to Stephens, he looks like Beckenbaer in comparison. The amount of games and points Stephens cost us was unprecedented and Ralph should be moving mountains to get rid of him. Liability !!. We still need a CB with some pace and who can organise and this should be our main priority.

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saintstu1969 added 09:34 - Jul 10 We all have our own views on players but Ralph will make the decisions he feels is right for the club. If this means that Hoedt is given a chance then he obviously sees something there. Unfortunately for Hoedt, when he was signed, the management was awful and was paired with Van Dijk for a while who wanted out. Perhaps a more stable management team will help him and Cedric and get the best out of them.

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Santos added 09:52 - Jul 10 The fact that we all need to accept is that Saints will not be able to get rid of every player we seem to think we should get off the books, it will take a few windows to sort the bit of mess we have got into the past few seasons. Cover is needed at right back and Cedric at the price we payed for him and usage may just be on of those players that financially it make sense to keep this season rather than splash out. equally with Hoedt and possibly Boufall they have long contracts and but could do a job even if it is for this season only it's about getting some value out of them. Then looking at the next window to see where we are at with them. The mistake is with the person/s who decided to sign 2 very similar centre backs in Hoedt and Vesteggard and now realising that we only need 1 big unit at the back and alongside a quicker CB, that is were money has been wasted hence now we have this problem that will take time to sort.

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1970 added 10:29 - Jul 10 most of our defenders are woeful and the only clean slate is the fact we couldn't even give them away but somehow they find there way into our first team, you cant coach pace, it's no surprise lamina is off he is one of the few that are worth money, how can a player want to leave with 3 years left on his deal? It's because it was agreed when he signed, at this moment the saints team looks exciting but it will soon dampen if we cant shift any of the dead wood.

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aceofthebase added 11:22 - Jul 10 Yes, let's ignore past performances and look to the future. Cedric grows another ten inches and Hoedt discovers which is his left foot and which is his right foot. Yashida gets massive approval from Nick for his goal-saving and goal scoring performances. Che scores every game. We are 'safe' by Christmas. Ticket prices are halved as TV revenue increases. The new 40,000 stadium extension is announced. Sightings of strange pink objects reported over St Mary's.

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lemmsy added 12:53 - Jul 10 Aceofthebase Pathetic reply
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SaintBrock added 14:27 - Jul 10 A lot of people will be eating a lot of humble pie if these two players force their way back into the starting XI. Bring it on!
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schatfield added 14:27 - Jul 10 I disagree with this continued vein of thought that most of our defenders are woeful. Bednarek was very good, and his partnership with Vestergaard was looking good too until he got injured. Add in Yoshida as back up, who looked decent in plenty of games and we are not so bad. Hoedt returning could be good - depends if the boss can get him playing in his style. I do worry about Cedric though - very short for a defender, he is more of a pacy winger

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NewburySaint added 15:17 - Jul 10 With regards to Cedric being sent out on loan i was told an interesting story by the compere at the Fathers Day Lunch with Benali event last month at St Marys which was that after 1 particular home game either towards the end of Hughes' reign, or just after RH arrived, Cedric refused to go to the suites to take part in the post match interviews and that was the moment SFC had, had enough of him. Obviously Valery was in the team by then anyway, and has since become a better player than Cedric anyway, so it made that decision easy for them to make..........

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SaintBrock added 18:24 - Jul 10 The past is the past, whatever was said or not said, was done or not done we are now on a new chapter and it does no good to rake up the past or hold onto grudges against individual players. Hutch realises this and so should fans. Austria is a new beginning, together we stand, divided we fall. Always remember that footballers are just young people with all the same uncertainties and worries about their lives as the rest of us. They can read also! Cut them some slack and the rewards will become evident. We need to start a new Saints Love-fest where we believe all our players can be brilliant and we are going to reach the top 6.

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LeTissIwish added 19:05 - Jul 10 Most of em can barely talk, let alone read...
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SaintBrock added 10:57 - Jul 11 LeTisswish - shame on you for such a juvenile and daft remark, tongue in cheek or not!
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1970 added 13:14 - Jul 11 'Schatfield' just rewind to last season in fact the very last game to see how good we are at the back I have to admire your optimism its certainly made my day check out some of the reactions from fans leaving the ground and see what they had to say on this site it might jog your memory.
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