Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has adressed the media for the first time since taking over at St Mary's.

The Austrian will conduct his first training session this afternoon ahead of the Cardiff game on Saturday.

Hasenhuttl discussed his initial feelings about Saints, when he was approached by Ralph Krueger, his target for the club, his 'Klopp of the Alps' nickname and the importance of the fans.

1. Hasenhuttl's first impressions of Saints:

“It was an easy decision for me.

“It’s a pleasure for me to sit here and I am very proud that the club decided to go for me.

“It’s a big challenge for me but it’s a logical step for me in my career.

“I had very good meetings with Ralph Krueger and it was relatively clear that I could help the club in this moment.”

2. Being approached to replace Mark Hughes:

“It was a very quick decision.

“You never know what happens as a manager when you are on holiday.

“I knew a Premier League club would force me more than any other Bundesliga club.

“My kind of football sits well with this league. It’s a very intense way.”

3. His ambitions for Saints:

“The first target is to get out of the relegation battle as quickly as we can.

“We can’t be frightened about it.

“We have a lot of games and my methods of play need a lot of training sessions and we only have one session before Saturday.

“It’s about stabilising the defence very quickly as it has been too easy to score against us.”

4. Being nicknamed 'Klopp of the Alps':

“I don’t like it so much.

“I want to be my own manager. I know Jurgen Klopp very well and I was laughing at his explaining of my name. His German is perhaps not as good as his English anymore.

“We were sitting in the football school together and got our coaching licenses together. I was always a fan of his football and he set marks in Germany that influenced my style.”

5. The fans:

“I need everyone to be with us.

“I saw the crowd yesterday and I have never seen support like it when the team was 3-1 down.

“They will have to accept another style of football and I know it’s a results game.

“We have a lot of games and my methods of play need a lot of training sessions and we only have one session before Saturday.

“We can’t be frightened about it.”