BBC pundit Chris Sutton has tipped Ralph Hasenhuttl to make a return as Southampton manager after Nathan Jones was sacked.
What’s the latest on Hasenhuttl to Saints?
Over the weekend, the Saints lost in humiliating fashion in the Premier League as they threw away a one-goal lead despite playing against ten men.
Indeed, Carlos Alcaraz put Southampton 1-0 up after 24 minutes before Mario Lemina was sent off just three minutes later. From there, however, Jones' men were beaten by Wolves' second-half comeback with Joao Gomes netting a late winner after Jan Bednarek scored an own goal.
The result leaves the Saints rooted down at the very foot of the division so it was no shock when the club's manager was sacked in the aftermath.
When talking on about possible replacements on BBC 606, Sutton said the club may be best off if they return to Hasenhuttl, who they fired earlier in the season.
He said “If they want someone to come in and really kickstart them, I think just going back to Ralph Hasenhuttl.
"That might sound bonkers - okay, you're [Robbie Savage] looking at me like, 'you're an idiot'. Okay, that's how you're looking at me.
"But I think a lot of the supporters respect Ralph Hasenhuttl. And, you know, him going back in, he knows the club.”
Would Hasenhuttl return to Southampton?
Jones' time with the club certainly was short – he oversaw just eight league games, winning just one – and the plan to sack Hasenhuttl certainly hasn't worked out so far. Indeed, the former manager was fired after nearly four years in charge with only 12 points after 14 games at that stage in the season. However, as mentioned before, in the following eight games, Southampton have won just once, picking up only three points since Hasenhuttl departed. Even though things were going badly under the Austrian, it's hard to imagine he would have done worse than Jones – who also seemed to alienate the club's fanbase with his behaviour in the press. It would be a pretty controversial move to return cap in hand to Hasenhuttl and ask him to come back. Still, seeing as he averaged 1.26 points per game while on the South coast, he may well be a better option than someone like Jesse Marsch who has been linked recently. After all, the American has just been sacked from his position with Leeds United and he averaged just 1.16 points per game.