Southampton Board to Keep Faith With Ralph Hasenhuttl Despite Leicester Humiliation

Ralph Hasenhuttl still has the backing of the Southampton hierarchy, despite their record-equalling Premier League defeat in Friday's humbling at the hands of Leicester City.

The Saints' manager made some poor decisions in the ​9-0 mauling at the hands of the Foxes, but his players were abject and the performance highlighted the deficiencies of Hasenhuttl's squad.

The board firmly believe the Austrian ​is the right man to take the club forward though and will look to strengthen the squad, as opposed to replacing their manager.

After several directionless seasons that resulted in relegation battles, staff were told on Saturday morning that the belief in Hasenhuttl's philosophy is unshakeable, as reported by the ​Telegraph.

Problems with defensive personnel will be addressed by the appointment of a new senior recruitment figure, who will also look to recruit the right players for Hasenhuttl's high-pressing style when the January transfer window opens.

The message is clear, there will be an overhaul of players before they consider sacking the Austrian and his coaching staff.

However, after years of excellent scouting and signings that were sold on for huge profits, ​Southampton's recent transfer windows have seen sizeable sums of money wasted on players that haven't delivered. They can't afford to make mistakes in January, especially if the club are still embroiled in a fight for Premier League survival. 

Danny Ings, Moussa Djenepo and Che Adams were the three high profile signings of this summer, but former Liverpool striker Ings is the only player who has made any real contribution to the side.

Adams is yet to score in any competition, while Djenepo has struggled to stay fit. As a result, Southampton have an appalling home Premier League record - having conceded 19 goals in their five matches at St Mary's this season, drawing once and losing the other four.