RALPH Hasenhuttl admitted he threw youngster Thierry Small in at the deep end during the FA Cup clash with Coventry – before reiterating his belief that the 17-year-old can only improve. Speaking to the press,
Ralph Hasenhuttl stated: “I mean it tested him, definitely! I think he was a little bit nervous, he’s very young and it was a big crowd. It was maybe not the perfect game (for him) to start, but I wanted to see how brave he is, how much he makes – I think he had a few good actions up front, but in the defence you could see was not so (good), a little bit shy in some moments. This is not possible on the FA Cup, you have to be immediately there and he wasn’t. But okay, I think this is the behaviour what he should do, there are still a lot of things to improve, but he will.”
With Saints into the next round, there maybe another chance for Small on the near horizon.
