How Sir Alex Ferguson helped Ralph Hasenhuttl to turn things around at struggling Southampton

Leicester equalled the 24-year-old record for the biggest ever Premier League victory when 10-man Southampton imploded on a rainy night at St Mary’s

Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reached out to him following Southampton’s humiliating 9-0 defeat at home by Leicester City earlier this season.

Leicester equalled the 24-year-old record for the biggest ever Premier League victory when 10-man Southampton imploded on a rainy night at St Mary’s.

Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez both scored hat-tricks in a result that almost cost Hasenhuttl his job.

And Hasenhuttl has revealed that after the match he received an unlikely, but welcome, message of support.

“We have important moments in front of the camera because the message we bring is impactful for many people,” he told Sky Sports, speaking from his home.

Hasenhuttl received a text message from Ferguson (Reuters)

“I always remember I received an SMS from Alex Ferguson, I never knew him before, and if we had not lost 9-0 I would not have had contact from him.

“So this is a positive. It lifted me in this moment. You are down and you find something to hold onto. I will have to live with this moment forever. It can help you to become a more experienced manager anyway.”

The result saw Southampton drop into the relegation places, but they began to turn things around with a draw away at Arsenal. After Christmas they beat both Chelsea and Tottenham, and avenged their earlier thrashing when they beat Leicester 2-1 at the King Power Stadium in January.

They now sit fourteenth in the table, seven points clear of the relegation places.

“At first I must always say thank you to the club for supporting me in that moment,” Hasenhuttl added.

“I said to him, “If I was in your case, I would sack me”. We were hopeless. We were a disaster. [The club] said he knew how much I invest and how much I do for this club and he was 100 per cent sure we would find a way back to success.

“We lost our direction a bit, especially me, it was the first time in my management career that I was not successful. For me it was a very important period and i learned a lot. It was a really difficult situation in the moment.”