#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl issues message to Southampton supporters after victory and ‘absolutely’ convinced of Djenepo as a defender #SAINTSFC
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Ralph Hasenhuttl
Ralph Hasenhuttl issued a message for Saints supporters after their comeback victory at Leicester City, saying:“For these moments it is worth it.” Speaking after the victory at Leicester City, Hasenhuttl issued a message to the loyal supporters who cheered his team on.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I always speak about how it is not so easy to be a Saints fan, but I think for these moments it is worth it to be one. It is special in these moments to be together and we enjoy celebrating together. When they support us like they did today, it is fantastic to turn things around for them.”
Saints were defeated 4-1 on the final day of the last Premier League season by Leicester, at King Power Stadium. It was the final nail in the coffin for three of his first-team coaches.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “We had last year a game here where we also conceded a goal nearly at the same time, and we lost 4-1. If you want to speak about the difference, this is a team that is super believing in what we’re doing. It was very good to watch for everybody, and a big compliment to the group for how they worked during the week. It is no coincidence, there was a lot of hard work in the background this week.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl insisted he was “absolutely” convinced of Moussa Djenepo’s new role, after the Malian played 90 minutes in left-back. The Austrian switched back to a four-man defence and, as a result of injuries, Djenepo – who had been deputising as a wing-back – was the only obvious choice. Djenepo helped keep Leicester City at bay during a 2-1 comeback win, which saw Che Adams net twice after James Maddison had opened in the second-half. Speaking after the match,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “Moussa on the left-back position, he is normally an offensive player but the way he defended today was fantastic. Absolutely (convinced). That he’s good on the ball we all know. But for him to defend like this, not everybody knows but he did it in a fantastic way today. With (Mohammed) Salisu, I think it’s a good relationship there also and (Adam Armstrong) Arma also supported him in a fantastic way, sometimes he could stay inside because Arma was making a lot of runs there and I must say that the two wingers today did a fantastic job to support them.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted Romain Perraud’s “groin problems were bigger than we thought” but hopes the Frenchman can return to training next week. Asked for an update on his fitness,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “The groin problems were bigger than we thought. It’s not the injury he had in the summer, it’s a muscle injury. It’s always a little tricky when you don’t have pre-season and you start and immediately step in. Everything was going quite well but the fundamental, the basic was not there or is not there and then you can see sometimes other problems come up. The timeline is beginning of next week he should be back in training. This weekend is too early but hopefully starting next week he is back. That doesn’t mean he can play in the (Carabao) Cup but we will see.”
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