Ralph Hasenhuttl is creating quite a stir.
The Austrian has a reputation for improving players, but at Southampton he has his work cut out first to save them from relegation. After a rigorous first week, everyone is buying into the manager’s intensive methods. He cancelled a day off and no one minded.
On the training ground, there are longer, comprehensive sessions with more sprints and greater urgency, and players are told exactly what to do with and without the ball.
‘I wouldn’t say he’s loud and aggressive but he’s got that authority,’ says Alex McCarthy, the Southampton and England goalkeeper.