Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted to spying

This comes after Leeds United sent an employee to hide in the bushes and scout Wednesday’s FA Cup opponents Derby County prior to their Championship match last Friday.

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Hasenhuttl admitted that it’s something he has done before when he was a manager in the Bundesliga.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa sent a spy to watch Derby train

Saints’ boss said: “I know this from Germany because there it is a little bit easier.

“We could because it was open to the public, so you could send people to see who is training and who isn’t and if there was a new coach you could see what he was doing from the beginning.

“I wasn’t standing there myself, but I’ve sent spies. Spies if you want to call them that, but it’s normal in Germany.

“There are a lot of public training sessions and it’s not a problem to spy on such training sessions. 

“But, there are still a few training sessions which aren’t public, and it also happens where you have to pick someone out from the woods behind the training pitch.”

The FA are yet to punish Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa for his actions, although Derby admitted they won’t be pressing charges over the matter.

Bielsa fronted up on TV and took responsibility for ‘Spygate’ but insisted that the practice is normal in other cultures.

Leeds issued a formal apology to Frank Lampard’s Derby side after beating them 2-0 in the subsequent fixture.

Derby manager Frank Lampard

And having experienced it on both ends of the spectrum, Hasenhuttl thinks it’s unlikely to happen again due to the uproar it caused.

“I think it’s good that in England they try to put out a signal that it is unsporting and unfair,” the Austrian added.

“I don’t think it will happen in the future again because if you see the fine is high then it won’t make any sense to take this risk.
“I know it, and I’ve had sessions spied on by other clubs, and I think if they send a strong signal that it’s unfair and unsporting, then I would have to agree.”

Saints host Derby at St Mary’s on Wednesday evening for an FA Cup third round replay after they squandered a two-goal lead against the Rams in the original fixture.

Ralph Hasenhuttl

Hasenhuttl made six changes to his squad for that game but admitted it’s unlikely there will be that many this time around.

He revealed: “I think it’s also a question about what shape we will start this game with. Against Derby last time we changed the shape and it was ok for a 2-2 draw.

“There won’t be as many changes as last time, but we aren’t sure at the moment because we have to find a good mixture between staying on line and trying to win this game.”