Ralph Hasenhuttl has been speaking to Sky Sports Austria about his intention to remain at St Mary's for the remainder of his contract, good news for Saints supporters who are finally seeing a manager at the club who looks beyond just the first team, but the whole set up.

When Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at Saints in December 2018 he was a virtual unknown name to UK football fans, he had impressed in Germany with RB Leipzig, but most Saints supporters had to google him when he suddenly emerged as the chosen contender to replace Mark Hughes.

If he lasts to the summer will become the longest serving Saints manager since Chris Nicholl and it seems he intends to achieve that landmark.

“I’m planning another three years at Southampton because I still have a three-year contract,” he told Sky Sport Austria.

“At the moment, there are not many scenarios at the moment where I can imagine ending this.

“For me, the Premier League feels like a whole year in the Champions League.

“When you see our games, you play at Manchester City on a Wednesday evening — those are games some would be happy about.

“It’s a lot of fun as a manager because you can and must always assert yourself at the level.”

Good news for Saints fans, yes there have been blips along the way, but overall we are heading in the right direction and continue to do so with the Austrian looking at all aspects of the club and not just the first team.

Photo: Action Images

DellBoyWally added 13:26 - Apr 7 I won't complain. RH is learning all the time and is certainly starting to impress compared to some not-so-dearly departed others of recent times. An FA Cup win would look good on his resumee and we can look forward to European football next season as well as qualifying by right in the Prem! In my 62nd year as a fan I've had many such dreams! Some will come true soon. Surely! Won't they? Pleeeaaase!

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ChristchurchSaint added 13:42 - Apr 7 If Ralph had the same money at his disposal as the bigger clubs have, then I am sure that he would have put it to much better use. Mourinho has umpteen millions more available to him, but they can only manage to get on the peripherals of “The Big Six.” Hopefully we will be sold to somebody who is prepared to loosen the purse strings, if only by a small amount.

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AirFlorida added 14:13 - Apr 7 I guess his options to move on to bigger things have been dented by another 9-0 and our recent appalling form. But that's good news. Let's face it if we'd won a game 9-0 and were in the top four he'd be managing Spurs now. So yeah, life of a Saints fan.
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saintmark1976 added 14:20 - Apr 7 Purely for the sake of balance Nick, I suspect that Ralph is mightily relieved that three years remain on his contract. Given that he is responsible for Southampton F C now holding the record for the biggest home and joint biggest away defeats ever in English top flight league football. All within eighteen months and not forgetting the longest run of consecutive league defeats in the history of the club.

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KriSaint added 15:24 - Apr 7 I trust in Ralph and don't think a millisecond about the 0-9 to Man. U, because we wouldn't have conceded 9, if Mike Dean had not been refereeing the match. In that match Mike Dean was fully exposed as the mentally disturbed, untalented football referee he is. Sad that it was Saints who had to pay. After that mess - If Dean ever gets to ref a cup final - proof of corruption in the FA is right in our faces. Neither do I think much about the terrible spell we've had since beating Liverpool. It's in the past, the players have picked themselves up, again, we have turned it around, and this seasons run-in is actually very exciting for a change. We just beat Burnley in a match in which RH showed that he does know something about game management. I think the players like and respect RH, and I want nobody else managing my favourite team for the next 3 years.

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underweststand added 07:52 - Apr 9 Good news on both fronts. Some continuity having the same manager for a while and not have yet another manager who wants to show ambition by becoming a "new broom ". Ralph has got his plan in place and hopefully some of the younger talents in the B team will have come to real fruition in 2-3 years time, and save us millions in future buys. Sounds like I'm in the same generation as Dell Boy Wally ( above) and as fans who've been through the whole gamut of emotions ( Div 3 upto the Prem. an FA Cup win, then back down to L1 ...and back up to the Prem. again) ...whew ! ..our expectations are somewhat different to those clubs who sack the manager for failing to reach the Top Six. Success for Saints fans is primarily ...SURVIVAL, and maybe a top half finish, (and there are many clubs who don't achieve that every season either). Reaching the top of the Prem. (even for a few hours) and a FA Cup Semi Final show that there is still life in the old club yet, and Heaven alone knows where we might be now -had we not gone through the club's worst injury season in living memory. Ralph is showing some character and that old-fashioned quality called ....loyalty. Our demands on him are not as stringent as some others , and as Ralph seems to enjoy living on the South Coast, he might also reflect that there are many worse places to live. Onward and upward ....COYR !

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