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| Ralph Hasenhuettl, Manager of Southampton gives instructions to his players during the Premier League match between Burnley and Southampton at Turf Moor on April 21, 2022 in Burnley, England. |
Ralph Hasenhuttl has said Saints are “open-minded about going new ways” and would consider bolstering his backroom staff ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Hasenhuttl has currently worked with a settled group of helpers since summer 2019, when assistant manager Danny Rohl left the club – with current assistant coach Richard Kitzbichler coming in.
Alongside the pair is Dave Watson (coach), Kelvin Davis (coach), Craig Fleming (coach), Alex Gross (strength and science) and 2019 arrival Andrew Sparkes (goalkeeping coach).
Much of the talk surrounding the arrival of new owners Sport Republic is the freedom given to pursue new playing targets quicker, to bolster the on-pitch squad.
However, the secure ownership could potentially give Hasenhuttl a chance to add more hands to his coaching and tactical analysis set-up.
Sure, we have also spoken about these opportunities we have,” Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo.
We are always open minded about going new ways and definitely everything that makes us better, everything that makes us more competitive, we will think about it – this is for sure.
Alongside the coaching team, head of first-team performance analysis Scott Waters has held his post for an impressive 11 years.
Hasenhuttl is open about the amount of commitment he and his staff devote to finding every margin possible to be better than the opponents, many of whom operate with significantly larger budgets.
After three years of working together, there could be big benefits to fresh experience and ideas, as well as helping better spread workload to further refine the skills of those on and off the grass.
We have always our eyes open and thinking about what we can change in the future but I think it is not the day to speak about it,” he added, though.
We have still a few games to go, but you can be sure that in the background we are always planning for the next season.
Saints have four Premier League matches remaining of the current season, with the ambition of tabling a first top-half finish under Hasenhuttl a lofty one – but not impossible.
Hasenhuttl still has at least two seasons with Saints, with his current contract expiring at the end of the 2024 season.
