The early days of Ralph Hasenhuttl at Saints

When Ralph Hassenhuttl first joined struggling Saints, they occupied the last relegation place in the Premier League and were just one point from safety.

The 51-year-old Austrian signed a two-and-a-half-year deal on December 5, 2018, to take charge at St Mary’s following the sacking of Mark Hughes.

Hasnehuttl watched from the stands as Saints lost 3-1 to Tottenham at Wembley before formally taking charge the following day.

In a statement, then Saints chairman Ralph Krueger said: “The urgency to find a path back to our potential and to the results that we expect cannot be underestimated. For that reason, we are extremely pleased that Ralph Hasenhüttl has agreed to become our new manager and do all he can to help guide us back on that path.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first game as Saints manager ended in a 1-0 defeat at relegation rivals Cardiff.

Callum Paterson’s goal on 74 minutes after a terrible error from Jannik Vestergaard settled an often scrappy match played in wet and windy conditions.

The result saw Saints slip to second from bottom and underlined the size of the job Hasenhuttl had on his hands.

Hasenhuttl put his stamp on things before kick-off by making six changes to the team with Oriol Romeu recalled into a sitting role in front of the back four in a very fluid formation that was hard to define but often resembled a 4-1-2-2-1.

It was Cardiff who took the lead on 74 minutes in a horror moment for Janik Vestergaard.

His attempted back pass to McCarthy was woefully short and Cardiff's Callum Paterson nipped in to steal it, held off the centre half and scuffed a finish past McCarthy for 1-0.

Saints weren’t able to create a chance and Hasenhuttl’s first game ended in a disappointing loss.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first home game in charge of Saints on December 16, 2018, ended the club’s long wait for another win at St Mary’s as they produced a stunning 3-2 victory over Arsenal.

The Gunners came into the match unbeaten in 22 matches in all competitions while Saints had just one league victory to their name all season, and hadn't won at home in almost eight months.

But two goals from Danny Ings and a late winner from Charlie Austin ensured they collected all three points and climbed out of the bottom three in stunning fashion.