Ralph Hasenhuttl is confident his special working relationship with the Southampton board can help take the club through a testing Premier League spell.
The Saints travel to fellow strugglers Aston Villa back in the bottom three following successive defeats away to Newcastle and then at home by West Ham.
The Austrian, though, for now continues to have the backing of the club hierarchy, having guided Southampton to safety after his arrival in early December 2018.
During Southampton’s Christmas party, board member and former owner Katharina Liebherr led a chorus of a supporters’ chant for Hasenhuttl, which was interpreted as show of support for the manager.
Hasenhuttl admitted the impromptu song came as something of a surprise, but feels the bond between dugout and boardroom remains strong.
“This relationship is important for working together, developing a club and going through all the periods, some successful, some more difficult,” he said.
“We are a special club here and we have this from the first day.”
Hasenhuttl brushed off suggestions he would be set for the sack if Southampton do not get a positive result against a Villa side just a place above them.
“We have a big game against an opponent who has the same points as we do. It is away – we have shown up this season in away games and given some really good performances, so we go there to take something,” he said.
“We have 15 points, but if we take another three, then we are close to the clubs who are in front of us.
“It is important to get three points every week, but if not, then it must be a performance where we can say we have a chance to take them.
“In the last away game at Newcastle, it was a really good performance, but we did not get something.
“There are a few points in our game where we do things 70 per cent well, but it is not enough in the Premier League.
“When you forget about these things for a few moments, the opposition is so strong that they kill you.
“The goal for the next match is that we really try to focus on the defensive game plan for the 90 minutes – or 100 if it is necessary.”
Hasenhuttl maintains his squad do have the stomach for a successful survival battle, having secured successive home wins over Watford and Norwich.
“I see them working every day, on their weaknesses, and this is what I expect as a manager. I demand a lot, they are following,” Hasenhuttl said at a press conference reported by the club.
“When I see us playing to where we were a month ago, we are more active, that does not mean everything is perfect, but we are really fighting for these points.
“If we were not having chances, I would be more worried about getting good results. We just did not have the luck in the last game.”
Midfielder Moussa Djenepo (hamstring) will not be involved at Villa, while winger Sofiane Boufal continues to recover from a stubbed big toe. Defender Kevin Danso has been laid low by a virus.
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