Ralph Hasenhuttl has been talking in the German media why he is happy at St Mary's and signed a new four year contract recently.
German media outlet SportBild have spoken to the Saints manager and asked him ‘why is it nicer to be 14th in England rather than being a runner-up in Germany’.
Ralph replied
"Nobody says it’s nicer. You can’t compare it. This is a completely different task. I understood very quickly what Southampton is all about and want to promote the long-term development of a club that has limits. The Champions League had its appeal for me — the Premier League as a coach [is] even more.”
Ralph also dismissed any suggestion that money was a factor behind his decision to sign the extension at St Mary's.
"I worked my way up from assistant coach in Germany’s 3rd League to the Premier League. With the successes came the money, but it never drove me and it isn’t today,”
"We are the world’s best marketed league, here is certainly the most money to earn. But I am also aware of the responsibility I have for 400 employees at the club.
"The feeling that this task fulfils me is more important than money, and it does so mainly because I feel a great deal of trust here.
"There are not many coaches who survive a 9-0 defeat . We don’t play the stars from the sky every week, but the club is 100% convinced of the path we have taken together. I have never had such a negative phase as we had here in autumn and when you can get through this together, it works out tremendously.”
But perhaps of the most interest to Saints supporters is what he wants to achieve with Southampton before his contract ends in 2024.
"We want to improve every year. Maybe we’ll get into the Europa League sometime, which is brutally difficult in England — because then you would be "best of the rest” behind the Top 6 with Liverpool, Manchester City and United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. It will be important that we remain faithful to our path,”
The good news for Saints supporters is that Hasenhuttl is committed to a long term vision at the Club, it shows that we are getting back on track after losing our way in the past few years.
Next week the season re starts, the task for Saints is to get those two wins that will take us to safety so we can truly start planning for next season and indeed the future