WALKING away from Saints after the Leicester thrashing didn’t cross Ralph Hasenhuttl’s mind.

The club’s 9-0 defeat, the worst in their history, led to speculation surrounding the Austrian’s future, although Saints were quick to back their man.

And as his side prepares to play Leicester at the King Power Stadium tomorrow, Hasenhuttl batted away the notion that he considered leaving.

“No. Never. I never thought about walking away,” proclaimed Saints’ manager.

“I only thought about whether my club trusts me, and I want to show that I am not at the end of my ideas and how I wanted to turn the tables.

“I can tell you that we have never stopped trying everything and, finally, the success came back. It was an important situation for me also and I’m thankful to sit here again.

“A few days ago, I had an interview with a German newspaper and they asked me if I feared I could get sacked after this match.

“I said, ‘If you lose one match 9-0 and you still stay alive you lose any fear you have’. This is exactly the moment I have.

“I feel I have a club which is absolutely behind me and the way we want to work here.

“They can see our philosophy and I’m happy that my team is showing we can be more successful. For sure it makes it more fun at the moment.”

Although he didn’t think about departing St Mary’s, Hasenhuttl said the humbling evening at St Mary’s made him question his approach.

He had started to move away from the tactics that saw him make an impact when he took over from Mark Hughes back in December 2018.

And Hasenhuttl said it was on him to make the necessary changes so that the players would follow suit.

Saints’ boss added: “There was a moment when I also must be self-critical and see that I was on the wrong path.

“This was not the way I wanted to play normally. When you lose the path it’s like with a player - you must be self-critical and honest with yourself.

“I think you have to find the right decision and the right solutions. And then you must say, ‘Ok you’ve got no more stable in going back deeper, deeper’, so you must come again on the front foot.

“This was a brave decision, but I think the behaviour we showed then … when someone has to be brave then it’s first the manager. And then the players can follow.

“But if you’re not brave how can they follow? I think it's important that I showed the right direction again and the players are following.”