Ralph Hasenhuttl is a dead man walking after Southampton slumped into the relegation zone.
Hasenhuttl, who has been Saints manager for almost four years, watched his side crushed by high-flying Newcastle for their sixth defeat in their last nine games. The Austrian has only managed to find three wins this season and when asked about if he had managed his last game, he said: “I have taken a lot of decisions since I’ve been here but that isn’t one I need to make.”
When quizzed if he could see a way out of the slump, Hasenhuttl simply replied: “No.” Before he added: “At the moment, no because I can’t say that we aren’t trying hard to change and we are putting in a lot of effort on the pitch.
"Everyone is fighting for it but at the moment we aren’t getting the reward for the efforts we are putting in. We are under the [relegation] line after the first 15 games which is not good enough for us. It is the first time since I’ve been here that we are under the line so we have to be very honest. It is simply not good enough.”
Saints face Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup before a daunting trip to Anfield before the World Cup break. Hasenhuttl said: “We have a game on Wednesday then we go to a ground where we haven’t scored a goal, but we will find a way to be a competitive opponent.”
If the Austrian does manage to hold onto his position for those meetings, he knows he will have to overcome the pessimism increasingly plaguing him as he tries to reverse struggling Saints’ start to the season. The sides looked more evenly-matched in the first half before the Magpies’ offence exploded in the second. Substitute Chris Wood came on for Callum Wilson and doubled Newcastle’s lead in the 58th minute before Joe Willock made it 3-0 four minutes later.
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Romain Perraud scored a late consolation goal but Saints fans were silenced a minute later when Bruno Guimaraes fired in Newcastle’s fourth.
If Hasenhuttl’s glass is half empty, Eddie Howe’s was overflowing as he reflected on his side’s dramatic turnaround since he accepted the head coach’s role at Newcastle last season and guided them out of the relegation zone to an 11th-place finish.
With the one-year anniversary of that appointment approaching on Tuesday, Howe was feeling reflective as the high-flying Magpies continued to occupy the top four. He said: “It’s important, I think in our position now, that we do think back, because last year we were in a really difficult position. And it’s very quickly, I think, forgotten.
“So I encourage the players to really enjoy this moment that we’re in now, really try and soak in what they’re achieving. Because it was a very difficult game today, a really tough place to come.”
There were also positive fitness updates for Howe’s squad. World Cup hopeful Kieran Trippier was replaced in the 80th minute, but the England full-back allayed fears that he had been struck by a hamstring injury and said he was prepared to play on.
Howe added Wilson, who came off after the first half, had been feeling “unwell” during the week and “felt a little bit lightheaded at half-time. So I think he’s fine physically, just suffering with a bit of illness.”
