After the departure of his former assistant, Ralph Hasenhuttl had to prepare for the new season a little short handed, now he has plugged that gap.

After the departure of Danny Rohl back in July Ralph Hasenhuttl had to prepare for the season one short on the coaching roster, this did not seem to affect results, but wins in pre season friendlies are different to those in the Premier League and whether the new appointment of Richard Kitzbichler is something that has been planned since the departue of Rohl or a more recent decision is unclear.

Whatever the reason though the gap has now been plugged as Saints confirmed with the following announcement.

Southampton Football Club is pleased to announce it has appointed Richard Kitzbichler as First Team Assistant Coach.

The 45-year-old Austrian joins manager Ralph Hasenhüttl’s staff, in which he will also work as Opposition Analyst, following two years with Chinese Super League side Beijing Sinobo Guoan and an extensive spell in his homeland with Red Bull Salzburg.

A former Austria international, with 17 caps for his country, Kitzbichler began his playing career at Wacker Innsbruck, before spells with Tirol Innsbruck, SC Holz Pfeifer Kundl, Austria Salzburg and Austria Wien.

After one season in Germany with Hamburger SV and a year in Australia with Melbourne Victory — either side of a return to Austria Wien — he finished his playing days at Salzburg.

It was there that he transitioned into a role as an analyst, working closely with the club’s coaches and players.

Following six years in the role, he was promoted into the position of assistant coach in 2015 under Óscar Garcia, combining his video analysis with on-pitch work.

A move to China followed in 2017, where he linked up with former Salzburg manager Roger Schmidt, who had been in charge of the Austrian club from 2012 until 2014, working as assistant to him.

The pair helped oversee some notable success at Beijing Sinobo Guoan, with the club finishing fourth in the Super League in 2018 and also winning the Chinese FA Cup that season, for the first time in 15 years.

Kitzbichler now joins Hasenhüttl’s team at Staplewood Campus, alongside First Team Assistant Coaches Dave Watson, Craig Fleming and Kelvin Davis, and Goalkeeping Coach Andrew Sparkes, as well as Head of Sports Science Alek Gross and Head of First Team Analysis Scott Waters.

Photo: Action Images

KriSaint added 08:06 - Aug 24 Never heard of him , but wellcome to him ! :-) Analyzing the opponent and using video in the process is a technique that Ralph seems very keen on, so - this appointment is no surprise. Well done Ralph, I have no doubts You got the man You wanted.
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underweststand added 09:01 - Aug 24 Modern football is very technique-orientated when every kick is analysed "ad infinitum ". This fellow is obviously "a bit of a nerd" for this type of video analysis which is rapidly replacing the 20th century model of .."the spy on the terraces ". He's obviously on the same wavelength as Ralph and hopefully they can develop the right strategy for each game..then it's up to the guys on the pitch to do their stuff. Welcome Richard !

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legod7 added 12:13 - Aug 24 Danny Rohl left RB Leipzig in July 2018 and was out of work until he teamed up with Ralph in December. Until he came here he had only ever coached in Germany. It was also Ralph’s first time in this country so perhaps given our precarious position he wanted someone he could trust to help him for the rest of the season. Perhaps he couldn’t settle in this country, maybe he preferred coaching in Germany.

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SaintBen added 13:16 - Aug 24 Having an Analyst looking at player ability worked in the film MoneyBall (great film, if you've not seen it!) Hopefully has a similar effect 😉
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1970 added 14:45 - Aug 24 we definitely needed to get someone in it seems very strange to have 3 goalkeeping coaches as assistants,welcome to that man and now big win at Brighton today coyr
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