RALPH Hasenhuttl has admitted he’s already planning what players may need a rest over the coming week but insists Tino Livramento isn’t necessarily one, adding: “I think it is not that he is tired but they are focussed on him because of his strength.” Saints begin a busy winter schedule with nine games between now and January 2 with the visit to Anfield on Saturday – three of them coming in the next seven days. Speaking ahead of the visit to Anfield,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I think it is not that he is tired but that they are a little bit more focussed on him because of the strength he has there. But it is normal that they are taking a little bit of care of him. It is more important to have both sides really strong so that they do not know which side they should focus on more.
Kyle Walker-Peters has been operating in left-back but is right-sided by trade
RALPH Hasenhuttl said: “The team is always that good when you have on every position a player that they have to take care of him because then it is hard for the opponent, when everyone is a threat it is hard to defend. We have on the full-back positions very good alternatives on both sides, this is what we need because the season is very long and we are in a much more comfortable situation than last season.”
But with some important squad management to come, the Austrian boss did admit that he and his staff have already got a plan in mind for just how many minutes some his squad can take over the next week. The fixture schedule doesn’t relent – there’s a week off after Brighton but then it’s back to a three-game week again with visits to Arsenal, Crystal Palace and a visit from Brentford.
RALPH Hasenhuttl added: “Yeah sure, we have a whole picture in our heads we have to have this. The good thing is that they are completely different games, Liverpool plays a different style than Leicester or Brighton so we can definitely think about who would be best. But anyway, you have to pick the best possible team for your gameplan, if you have different gameplans that is easier.”
