Ralph Hasenhüttl is also next season coach in the English Football Premier League. The Styrian fixed the class retention with Southampton on Saturday with a 3:3 home remis against Bournemouth. Because the 18th Cardiff City lost 0:1 to Fulham at the same time, the “Saints” can no longer fall back to one of the three relegation ranks two laps before the end.
“We are very happy now – we deserve it,” said Hasenhüttl. The former ÖFB team forward had taken over Southampton from Mark Hughes in December in 18th place. In 21 league games under his leadership so far there have been eight wins and eight defeats. The 3-3 win against Bournemouth was the fifth draw.
The Southampton goals in a “crazy game” according to Hasenhüttl were scored by Shane Long, James Ward-Prowse and Matt Targett. We had to score a lot of points, it’s incredible,” said Hasenhüttl. “And being through two laps before the end is fantastic for us. We learned a lot during this time and showed how beautifully we can play.”
Hasenhüttl’s contract runs until 2021 and Austria’s first coach in the English House of Lords wants to save himself a relegation thriller in the coming season. “We’ll reposition ourselves this summer,” explained the 51-year-old. “We can start planning tomorrow. The goal is to reach 40 points earlier than this season. A little less stress would be nice.” Currently Southampton holds at 38 counters.
Marko Arnautovic also experienced a sense of achievement. The ÖFB attacker prepared the decisive goal for West Ham United’s 1-0 win over Tottenham with an emotional cross by Michail Antonio (67th). “Arnautovic was very good,” said West Ham coach Manuel Pellegrini. “It’s been a difficult season, but I’m sure we’ll rediscover the player he can be.”
For Tottenham, the defeat in the London city duel was not only the first defeat in the new stadium, but also a missed dress rehearsal for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday. Although the “Spurs” are still third in the standings, their rivals Chelsea and Arsenal can come dangerously close with victories on Sunday.
