Southampton’s charismatic Ralph Hasenhüttl makes an impression but plays down Jurgen Klopp comparison

Hasenhüttl dedicates much of his spare time to playing the piano and his pledge to entertain will be music to Southampton fans’ ears after three years of uninspiring football

Southampton new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl played down comparisons with Jurgen Klopp as he laid down his blueprint to revive the ailing south coast side with a bold promise to make them “the team to watch”.

Austrian Hasenhüttl has been dubbed ‘the Alpine Klopp’ in his homeland owing to the fact the pair qualified from the same coaching course and share the same attacking philosophy.

But speaking for the first time on Thursday since replacing Mark Hughes at St Mary’s, Hasenhüttl, 51, said: “I have heard about the nickname. I don’t like it so much. I want to be my own character.

“We know each other very well and were sitting in the football school together and made our pro-licence together. I was always a friend of his football. He has a very proactive way to play and he set marks in Germany with his kind of football and that really influenced my style.

“He made a fantastic way as manager, he was very successful in Dortmund and went to a successful club in the Premier League and they are in a fantastic position.

“If I can do it similar or nearly the same it would be fantastic for me but that is too far away. We have other targets, goals and problems. We will see how far away our limits are at the minute.”

Hasenhüttl inherits a Southampton team third-from-bottom in the Premier League table and devoid of confidence after a demoralising run of only three victories in 23 games, which cost Hughes his job.

However, if charm and charisma are the recipe to win matches, they will soon start to climb the table judging by an assured display from Hasenhüttl at his unveiling at Southampton’s New Forest training ground.

Some of his analogies dreamed up – “If you want guarantees buy a washing machine, because there are none in football”, and ‘The Titanic left from here. I hope I do not hit the first iceberg” – entertained the packed auditorium.

The likeable former RB Leipzig coach also provided a snapshot of how he wants to improve Southampton’s dour playing style but admitted this season will be more about evolution than revolution.

“When you see us playing in the summer it will be completely different than when you see the team now. You can expect a very passionate kind of football with 11 characters on the field who know exactly what to do, what they have to show the crowd,” he said.

Hasenhüttl watched Southampton lose 3-1 at Wembley (EPA)

“After the match even if we don’t win I am 100 per cent sure they will help us and appreciate what they have seen. I am looking forward to how much I can change this team, with my kind of play. 4-2-2-2 is my preferred system and the main goals are to be very active and proactive and try to press very early.”

Hasenhüttl dedicates much of his spare time to playing the piano and his pledge to entertain will be music to Southampton fans’ ears after three years of uninspiring football under Hughes and predecessors Mauricio Pellegrino and Claude Puel.

He has previous experience of rescuing a team from peril after taking over at Ingolstadt when they were bottom of the German second division and leading them to the Bundesliga within two full seasons in charge.

That achievement earned Hasenhüttl a move to Leipzig where he finished runner-up to Bayern Munich and guided ‘Germany’s most hated club’ to a Europa League quarter final last season.

“I felt I had taken the team as far as I could,” said Hasenhüttl when asked why he decided to leave Leipzig in the summer. “One month ago I felt the time was coming to get back in the job again

“I had a lot of options to do so. The question was not when I come back but what was the right club for me. It was very clear the right decision was the Premier League.

“This step is not the easiest one but I never wanted it easy in my life. I always wanted to challenge myself.”