Martin Keown has been waxing lyrical about Ralph Hasenhuttl on talkSPORT ahead of Southampton's clash with Burnley this weekend.

The former Arsenal defender was speaking to Jim White, where he spoke very highly of the former RB Leipzig manager and his methods in training, having been lucky enough to watch one of the Austrian's sessions.

Southampton began the season in terrible fashion, and were sat in the relegation zone after the 9-0 defeat to Leicester at the end of October.

Now, however, the Saints sit six points off sixth-placed Tottenham having won five of their last eight Premier League outings.

What did he say?

Speaking on talkSPORT, Keown said: "Watching him work, I was immensely impressed. You could tell there was a really good work ethic, there was an enjoyment in what the players were doing, everybody was paying a great deal of respect.

"It was really healthy. It looked like a really good atmosphere there and I thought 'these players are really enjoying this'. I spoke to the press officer there and they said they think it's the best manager they've had in years. I'm convinced that a bigger job is waiting for this man in the future.

Deserves all the praise he gets

To be able to remain calm and continue to trust your methods, even after watching your side suffer the joint-heaviest defeat in Premier League history takes some nerve, but that is exactly what Hasenhuttl did and he is reaping the rewards.

Somehow, the Austrian has completely turned Southampton's season around to the point where they now look like genuine contenders for a Europa League spot, rather than one of the three sides who will occupy a place in the bottom three come May.

Who is that?! Nobody has been able to name the teams all of these obscure managers were once in charge of...

It hasn't just been an unsightly scrap, either.

With Danny Ings scoring goals for fun - he is currently on 17 for the season - Southampton are a very enjoyable team to watch, where they hunt in packs with huge intensity while also playing free-flowing football, and that is credit to Hasenhuttl for sticking to his guns and being bold.

In other news, take a look at the XI that we think Ralph Hasenhuttl should deploy against Burnley...