RALPH Hasenhuttl’s admits he’s revelling in Saints’ end of season fixture pile-up.

Once Project Restart comes to its conclusion later this month, the Austrian would have taken charge of nine games in just over five weeks.

Hasenhuttl believes the three-month break gave him time to look assess all aspects of the south coast club in the smallest of detail.

“I’ve liked this period very much,” the 52-year-old said.

“We had a very long break. Then you are hungry. We had lots of time to analyse and work on our playbook – it’s massive – and to see what we have done right and wrong.

“You don’t ’t really have that opportunity very often. I’m really happy that we had this period and I’ve enjoyed it.

“If you think about that it’s very much like international management. I haven’t thought of it from that side. But for that, you first have to qualify for a tournament.”

Monday’s fixture will be club’s fifth tie since the Premier League resumes and, at the moment, challenges don’t come much tougher than a trip to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position in charge of the English giants came under question earlier in the season, with many United supporters urging the club to appoint ex-Saint Mauricio Pochettino.

But, as Saints did with Hasenhuttl, the Old Trafford side stuck by their manager and are seemingly reaping the rewards of that decision.

And Hasenhuttl reckons Solskjaer is now proving his doubters wrong.

“In the beginning, people did not underestimate him as he had a very good start and was winning all the games," Hasenhuttl added. "Then it was the opposite.

“So now it’s a little bit special for everyone around the world to see what he’s doing. That’s a problem in our business.

“It’s more important that he is convinced about what he is doing – and at the moment he is proving all the experts wrong.

“The signing [Bruno Fernandes] in the winter has helped them massively. That is clear. The team is completely reorganised and very different.

“But still the big challenges are to come. With such a club, it's always important that you don’t just have a good 100-meter record but one for the marathon.

“To be successful with such a club. You have to develop the team and game every day over the whole season – you can never stop learning and improving.

“And never stop winning – because winning is normal and losing is always a disaster. That’s the challenge with these sort of clubs. So right now, he’s doing a good job in that respect.”