SAINTS CEO Martin Semmens explained the decision to part ways with former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was “not made that recently” and claims he is certain it was the right time.
Austrian boss Hasenhuttl was relieved of his duties earlier this month following a run of four wins in 26 Premier League fixtures, culminating in a 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle United.
Although his time at the club totalled nearly four years after replacing Mark Hughes in December 2018, he did not make 10 months under new owners Sport Republic.
The feeling around the club had been that Hasenhuttl would be sacked during the World Cup break, but the decision was enacted a week earlier with new manager Nathan Jones leading for Liverpool.
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“When I first started working with Ralph, he said you have to evolve,” Semmens said, in a new interview with The Athletic.
“So you either change the manager, coaches or the players. We got to a point where at the end of last season it wasn’t working.
“We needed to make a change in that environment and there were many paths we could have gone down.”
During the summer, Saints parted ways with three first-team coaches in Dave Watson, Craig Fleming and Kelvin Davis.
In doing so, they hired current lead coach Ruben Selles, Alex Clapham – who has since departed the club – and promoted under-18s coach Carl Martin.
“For clarity, it was Ralph’s decision (to change the backroom team), not ours, and we felt it worked,” Semmens added.
“The change in coaches didn’t undermine him — he actually loved it. But it’s possible that we tried to change the way we play, the way we coached and we probably didn’t get that 100 per cent right.”
In the same interview with The Athletic, Sport Republic's Henrik Kraft explains further: “The guys that left in the summer are not people Ralph brought in.
“They were people he inherited. When you observe the training and talk to him, it was clear they weren’t adding much. So he wanted the change and was fully behind it. It was done jointly.”
Semmens continued: “Have we got a clear way of playing? Yes, Do we feel that towards the end of last season and this season that eroded a little bit? Yes.
“We’re not blind, everyone can see it. Ralph did an unbelievable job in difficult circumstances to build something that wasn’t here. We’re massively grateful for that.”
Semmens goes on to insist the timing of Hasenhuttl’s departure, coming just ahead of a six-week break and after a summer spend of £70million on new talent, was correct.
“One of the beauties is it came to an end at the right moment for him and us. There’s no bitterness or upset,” he said.
“I spoke to him yesterday and he’s sitting at home with his family knowing he did a great job and is happy. He was caring about what we were going to do next — he’s that type of guy.
“We didn’t make the change with Ralph based on recent results — the decision was not made that recently — we made it based on what we think we need for the future.
“There’s not a crack in my mind that doesn’t think it was the right time for Ralph.”
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