Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that reputation counts for nothing, under him it is all about who is playing well and that some of the established stars will not get back in automatically after injury.
The Austrian has already shown in his first games in charge that he is no respecter of reputation, the players he pick will be on their current form and application and not what they have done in the past.
Already we have seen some of the youngsters come in and do well under the Austrian Cedric Soares, Wesley Hoedt and Manolo Gabbiadini are all currently being overlooked and Ryan Bertrand seems unlikely to walk straight back in when he is fit again.
The manager reported.
"Cedric was injured and we played against Cardiff and Arsenal he wasn’t part of the team.
"After his injury it’s always the same if the guys who play in your position do it well you are out and you have to wait.
"We have Ramsay as a substitute on the bench and we only need one for this position as he can play both sides like Cedric also does.
"We want to give the young players a chance and (Yan) Valery and Matt (Targett) made a very good game in recent games and are very much sprinting and running deep and Matt had a few assists also so at the moment he (Cedric) stands behind, he has to wait and if he gets a chance he must show he deserves to play.”
"Our philosophy is to give the young player a chance for the future because they are our future.
"I want them to be part of the squad and it can happen with Ramsay in the next game against Man City he can get a chance to play.
"I’m looking to build something here and new players are the future for this club.
"We have a few jewels in the academy and my challenge is to work with them and make them better and that is only possible if you give them a chance against good teams. Why not?”
But Hasenhuttl batted away talk of whether some of these senior players could be sold in January.
"It’s not about being happy, it’s about being successful,” he insisted. "At the moment the only goal is to be successful.
"Last week showed the guys are on this train now and working hard for this team.
"They had earned two successful games so for the others it means they have to wait and when they come back they have to show us they are as sharp as the others and try to put everything on the pitch like the guys did the two games before.
"The first 14 games we made nine points which is not enough in the Premier League and if we had won (against West Ham) that would have been nine points from four matches.
We didn’t and it’s a long way.
"I can’t have a view on the personality and the future of every player.
"For me it’s important to build something up and bring the squad back to a successful period.
"That will be hard enough and I need the guys who are really working towards that for sure.”
Hasenhuttl is aware that the demands of the tougher training regime along with a busy Xmas period will be hard on the players and he will need to keep tabs on who is coping better than others when asked if he needed to freshen up the squad.
"I must say yes because we don’t need only freshness but also quality as we’re against Man City but I’m looking forward and am not so pessimistic about not finding them,” he insisted.
"We play at home and the supporters know exactly what will happen as we face one of the best teams in Europe on Sunday and it can be a big experience for young players and I’m not afraid to put one or the other in from the beginning. Why not?”
Again Hasenhuttl has impressed the fans with what he is saying, he has already shown his squad that no one is guaranteed a place or a washing machine for that matter and that in turn will hopefully contribute to a new positive attitude within the squad.
He is looking at how players react to situations, who will relish a challenge and step up to the plate and who will not !
It will not be an overnight success, but now we seem to be taking a couple of steps forward for every step back and not vice versa.