RALPH Hasenhuttl has insisted “it wasn’t a case of not getting what I wanted last season” after a major shakeup of his first-team coaches this summer.

Saints will travel to Tottenham Hotspur with a trio of assistants supporting Hasenhuttl in the Premier League for a first time, following Ruben Selles, Carl Martin and Alex Clapham’s introductions.

They replaced Craig Fleming, Dave Watson and club legend Kelvin Davis to take up lead first-team coach, in possession coach and set-piece coach roles respectively.

Many felt the summer, following just one win in the final 12 matches of the season and with the arrival of new owners Sport Republic, was a flashpoint in Hasenhuttl’s four-year St Mary’s tenure.

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The board backed Hasenhuttl with his own coaching team and new players to the tune of £60million plus, leaving no room for error once the new young starlets have all settled in.

Daily Echo: Southampton's first-team coaching staff (Pic: SFC)Southampton's first-team coaching staff (Pic: SFC)

And Hasenhuttl was asked if he is getting what he did not get from his previous coaches, from the new faces leading the group. He responded: “It wasn’t a case of not getting what I wanted to get last season.

“What we have done is an unbelievable job in the last four years. But I wanted to give the players some new voices, some new methods to keep them interested in what we are doing here.”

Hasenhuttl added: “When you are that long at a club, you have to re-find yourself all the time. There is nothing more boring than hearing the same voice for 365 days the same.

“I have never worked that long at a club, you need to find new ways to work and this is what I’ve got with the new coaches and I’m very happy.”

As part of the final preparations for both the Premier League and the B team’s Premier League 2 campaign, Hasenhuttl and the coaches organised a behind-closed-doors friendly.

“We have played a game this week against our U23 when we try to look at them,” he said, asked if any of the young players could make an impact on his squad.

“Some players have been with us at our camp in Austria and will also get chances to train with us and work with us. The communication is good, the relationship is good and this should be the way.”

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