Ralph Hasenhuttl must teach Southampton how to defend and how to win again to turn their ship around

All of Southampton's good work was undone by the sloppiness in how they conceded three times against Tottenham in a result that shows how much hard work is ahead for Hasenhuttl

Ralph Hasenhuttl flew into London on Wednesday and met club staff at Southampton’s team hotel before watching his new side lose 3-1 to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. It was an extremely mixed performance, some promising attacking, some disastrous defending, which will give the former RB Leipzig manager plenty to think about before he is unveiled to the media in Southampton on Thursday afternoon.

But before the game Hasenhuttl spoke with the caretaker coaching team Kelvin Davis, Craig Fleming and Dave Watson, to tell them about his philosophy and his approach. This is a club that has allowed its identity to dissipate over the years, amid constant turnover of players and coaches. What they need, more than anything else, is a vision, and someone with the tools to impose it.

That is what Hasenhuttl offers, and that is the impression that Davis came away with from their meeting after lunch, before the game. Speaking at his post-match press conference, Davis spelled out what he had made of the Austrian who has been brought in to turn this club around. And what really shone through was the clarity that Hasenhuttl will bring.

“Very concise with his information,” Davis said. “Very honest. Very to the point on what he wanted, and explained how he wants to work. It was quite simple: how he likes to play the game, how he likes his sessions to be planned, how he watches opposition, what he expects from standards, and people around him. There was no grey area where you didn’t know what we would have now at this football club.”

That must be music to the ears of Southampton fans, after the years of grey areas under Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes, each man taking the club progressively further away from the clear ‘Southampton Way’ of the Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman eras. It certainly impressed Davis. “There was generally a good feel to him. He’s very keen to come in and improve us as a group. He wants to join our football club, which is fantastic with the pedigree that he’s got. We are really looking forward to him getting started.”

And there were some positives in what Hasenhuttl saw on the pitch. Saints played some impressive attacking football, forced three excellent saves from Hugo Lloris and hit the woodwork twice. The problem is this all happened when they were 3-0 down and the pressure was off. But it is at least a start. “The lads were fantastic in sticking to the game plan, and sticking to just being a team,” Davis said. “That’s what I asked them before the game.”

The bad news is that Southampton seriously struggle with defending. That much was clear as they gifted three strikingly simple goals to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley last night. Whenever Spurs had a corner or a free-kick they would usually win the first ball. Lucas Moura scored his goal because he could win the second ball too. Harry Kane and Son Heung-min scored tap ins after the ball was crossed to them with no pressure on it whatsoever.

Hasenhuttl has plenty to sort out at Southampton, but this comes first. Making them difficult to score against. When asked what his new boss’ biggest challenge is, Davis pointed to exactly this. “If you look at the goals we conceded tonight, reflecting on the game, that has probably been our Achilles heel. I think that’s something he’ll be looking to address as quickly as he can. If you look at the goals, they’re goals that ultimately they’re easy to stop. It’s a mindset.”

Davis was insistent that the mentality at the club was not a problem. “I don’t believe that we are not a confident group,” he said. “It’s not a group that isn’t in a mentally good place.” Maybe so, but they are clearly a team that have forgotten how to win, having won just one of their 15 league games so far this season.

Harry Kane celebrates scoring in the first half (EPA)

Turning performances into results is about managing a game, knowing when to defend and when to attack. Saints’ problem is that they make things impossible for themselves by not showing up for the first 10 minutes of the first half, when they conceded once, or the first 10 minutes of the second half, when they conceded twice. That meant that their improved attacking play as each half went on was rendered pretty much irrelevant. “Goals obviously change games,” Davis explained. “We probably switched off at key moments in the game.”

That mental challenge is as difficult as anything Hasenhuttl has to improve technically or tactically. Can he teach this strangely disparate group of players how to compete and win together, how to convert a good display into three points? If he does that he could be the club’s next Mauricio Pochettino, who turned a season around before taking them on to greater things. There is some very hard work to do first.