There’s a note in my phone. All it says is: “Ralph Hassenhuttl with the look of a man that has seen some things…” no other detail offered. Excellent work as always, Laura.
All I can imagine is that the cameras had picked him out on the touchline, mid game, in a moment of frustration. His steely blue eyes fixed on an area of the pitch he feels could do with some improvement.
He is an impressive man at six-foot, three-inches tall, chiselled and athletic. 14 months after becoming the first Austrian manager to join the Premier League his appearance has changed a little. The floppy locks are shorter on the sides, the once freshly shaved face now grown out into a tidy beard. He seems battled hardened. If he doubled up as a suited hitman in his spare time, it would not surprise me.
Forget about that, cast your mind back to December 2018, Saints were enduring their worst start to a top-flight campaign. They had zero home wins and were 18th in the league. One point from safety.
Ralph’s first taste of England’s top tier was a 1-0 loss at the Cardiff City Stadium where he went shoulder to shoulder with then boss Neil Warnock. I imagine he added a few new phrases to his vocabulary that day. After the game, he promptly cancelled the players' day off. The work was about to begin.
Ralph wrecks Arsenal run
We, 'The Media’ called him ‘The Klopp of the Alps.’ A name I’m pleased to say he outgrew almost instantly. Then it was ‘Wreck It Ralph’ when he ended Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run in his first home game in charge.
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly how he had endeared himself to the fans so immediately.
Was it the free beer voucher he had provided for every season ticket holder that earned him a standing ovation before the game had even kicked off?
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Was it the way he leaped around his technical area with glee, occasionally forgetting his boundaries and running into Unai Emery’s box, before apologising profusely and returning to his own?
Or was it the exciting, pressing style he’d implemented that got Saints their first home win since the previous April? I’d say all of the above.
I always laugh when I look back at the photo of our post-match interview, my left hand clutching the microphone and my right hand squeezed shut into a clenched fist. It’s as if every part of my body is conforming to professionalism except for that tightly rolled hand, livid this man was the architect of my beloved Arsenal’s downfall. Of course it wasn’t, it’s just a case of awkward hand syndrome I seem to get every now and again.
He had brought a new optimism to a starved fan base. He connected with the players and found ways to motivate each of them, individually. He used match clips from his former club RB Leipzig to make up for the lack of time they had together on the training pitch. He had examples of players like Naby Keita to specifically demonstrate how he wanted the team to press in certain areas.
I’m always curious as to how a manager keeps each of his squad happy and motivated with only eleven slots at this disposal. Ralph is incredibly meticulous in his preparation and demanding of his players, whether you are in the team or out of it.
“He goes through everyone’s game and produces video clips to send to the players on their iPad to show where he wants more and with examples of what he did and didn’t like. Even if they are miles out of team, it makes them feel they are still part of it, not left out in the cold,” a club source told me. The methods had worked and Ralph’s first season at the club was a success, securing safety with a 16th place finish.
However, the new season brought a familiar fight at the bottom of the table. Wave after wave of disappointing results and interestingly another baron run at home without a win dating back to the previous April.
Leicester City inflicted Saints’ biggest defeat in their history as an English league side. A 9-0 battering is enough to floor a club and I doubt many would have been surprised if Ralph’s career on the South Coast had been terminated there and then. The rumour mill span, but the club remained resolute. As did the players. There was never a sense of lost faith. “They always followed him even when things were tough, they weren’t going to throw in the towel. They never turned on him. It actually went the other way when things were really tough. They worked harder.”
9⃣ Nine players
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) December 27, 2019
👌 14 passes
👏 One incredible goal
When Southampton turned into Barcelona...pic.twitter.com/Vymb3qxCdE
It's a refreshing paradox to the reality that is so often played out. A buck in the trend that when the going gets tough the manager is the first to fall on his sword. Here was a manager with a plan B and a plan C.
Back-to-back defeats at the Etihad and a 2-1 loss to Everton followed the Leicester mauling, but there were signs of improvement.
The international break in October was a chance for Ralph to reset the players and go back to his ideals. “He felt his ideas had got away from him.” They reverted to his favoured 4-2-2-2 after a spell of five at the back and reintegrated Shane Long and Stuart Armstrong and aimed to maintain a settled squad with far fewer changes. Most importantly: “He got a feeling for who he wanted and who was up for the fight.” Those two weeks were crucial.
The subsequent 2-2 with Arsenal at the Emirates was as significant as his first home meeting with the Gunners. ‘Wreck it Ralph' had struck again, this time marking the beginning of the end for Unai Emery’s 18 month career in North London. Six days later, after a home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, Arsenal thanked him for his services and bid him farewell. In contrast, this was the turning point for Southampton’s season. “The players said they felt something clicked, the pressing, the triggers, the shape, it all seemed to click.” Clarity.
If you needed a metaphorical performance for the script Saints have written this season it would be perfectly summed up in the reverse fixture at the King Power. The highlights of that 9-0 played out on the big screens pre-match as if to serve as motivation. What it did appear to do, was quite the opposite. Saints marched on to a 1-2 victory with a late Danny Ings winner, his 10th in 10 games.
Ralph has weathered the storm and guided his team up to 12th. His commitment and motivation unwavering. “Even in the toughest moments he never faded away, if anything he was even more present.”
He continues to show faith in players that have been written off in the past and revels in developing the club’s young talent with Will Smallbone making his Premier League debut in their 2-0 win over Villa last weekend.
“Mood at the moment is very good, with results getting better and momentum building. There are never any issues in bad patches, the work ethic is still there. The team know they can’t rest on their laurels, the job isn’t done.”
There is a lot more background I could offer you. The fact that he recognises the importance of team morale and togetherness, organising bonding sessions, a sailing trip and a bbq for the players and staff earlier in the season. Or that he’s a big fan of golf and tennis, playing both in his spare time. And that his beard isn’t because of the stresses of management or to help mask his alter ego as a top end assassin. It was a superstition. He grew it to see if it brought them luck. They won six of their next eight games.
But it’s his attention to detail that I have found the most engaging element of his character. “He’s always there early in the morning, preparing training sessions, meetings, debriefs, opposition notes. He’s a workaholic.” Saints still aren’t safe. The hard work continues with Ralph setting the example, ready to lead his team into any war. I think back to his reaction in the technical area at that first Saints home game. Unable to contain his emotions and brimming with pride at the final whistle. And the absolute carnage he has led his team through since. It’s relentless. Who’d be a football manager, eh?
“If you don’t want to work 24 / 7 every day,” Ralph told Talksport: “You should do something else.” One things for sure, if I’m ever heading into battle, I’d want to be on his team.
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