Ralph Hasenhuttl is hoping for a special and emotional afternoon with the Saints fans as his team wave off another season at St Mary’s.

A campaign that started with such struggle has been turned around since Hasenhuttl took charge with the Austrian helping to guide the club to Premier League safety.

Saints have one last match before the summer break as they welcome rock bottom and long since relegated Huddersfield to St Mary’s, with the players set for a lap of appreciation after the final whistle.

Hasenhuttl is desperate that his team sign off in style.

He said: “It’s very special for me and very special for the team.

“We had a public training session this week and if you look in the eyes of the kids of how much they like it if you give them an autograph or make a picture with them that means everything for them.

“For us it is the motivation what we need to give them a good end of the season and to show them that we want to take the last win.

“This relationship was a little bit the secret in the last months – to stand together, to walk together as Southampton Football Club.

“Finally, to get more committed the team with the fans and I can feel that there is something growing, and we want to go on this way and follow this way.”

Saints do not have a lot left to play for but will have half an eye on the financials with £2m a place up for grabs in prize money and the knowledge they could move up or down a position from their current slot of 16th in the table.

Of the three teams involved they do have by far the kindest fixture with Brighton, who are a place and two points below Saints, hosting title chasing Manchester City, while Burnley, a place and two points better off, take on Arsenal at Turf Moor.

When asked about ‘the race for 15th’, Hasenhuttl laughed: “Maybe I was joking it was not that interesting for national but for us as a team and a club it’s very interesting we can make one more step and position in the table.

“Not only for this but a last game at home is something very special and feels much better to make the final lap of appreciation to the fans with a win.

“I think it’s much nicer to go around and say thank you to the fans if you have won before and that’s what we want to do.”

Once tomorrow’s game is over Hasenhuttl will start to put into place his plans for next season.

Though there is a lot of hope over what could be achieved with Hasenhuttl at the helm, the manager is trying to control expectations.

“It’s something that was growing over years,” he said of Saints’ sixth and seventh place finishes achieved under Ronald Koeman. “It is not something you can manage in six or seven months.

“It is something that has to grow and we started in a good direction and made the first good step and the fundament is built.

“To make the next step it’s very important to make the right decisions for next year.

“The players head off but for us as a club we should stay hard working in the break.

“We need a few changes in the team and the club and that’s what we will enforce.”