Ralph Hasenhuttl brought to tears after Southampton celebrate Sheffield United win with fans
Ralph Hasenhuttl on the return of Southampton's fans to St Mary's: "I was having a few tears in my eyes because it's a moment where it's different, to win in front of them, even if it's only a few thousand."
Sunday 13 December 2020 15:53, UK
Ralph Hasenhuttl said he had been brought to tears by celebrating with Southampton's fans for the first time this season after their 3-0 win over Sheffield United.
St Mary's played host to 2,000 supporters who watched on as the Saints went third in the Premier League, 295 days since the last Southampton home goal was scored in front of a home crowd.
A visibly emotional Hasenhuttl celebrated with them at the full-time whistle, and later told Sky Sports why he had been brought to tears as Southampton recorded their best start to a league season after 12 games for six years.
"It's wonderful, it's wonderful in front of our fans coming back, and the guys really enjoyed it," he said. "I was having a few tears in my eyes because it's a moment where it's different, to win in front of them, even if it's only a few thousand.
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"It's amazing, the atmosphere, you could feel how much they enjoyed watching us. We wanted to give everything they wanted to see from us, everything we have learned and improved, and that was a perfect Sunday really. It was fantastic.
"When you see us playing, it's not a coincidence we are up in the table. Every part of our game has had a massive development, it's not so easy now to kick long against us, we can create chances when we have the ball.
"We're getting better and better, when you come in the morning and tell the guys something you're thinking about, you can see them thinking about the same thing.
"They are really focused, they like to learn, they like to develop their game and it's nice to watch."
Wilder looks to history for Blades hopes
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder could be forgiven for shedding tears of his own as his Blades side continued the worst ever start to a Premier League season, and have now picked up just a solitary point from their opening 12 games.
Wilder admitted his team had been outplayed at St Mary's, failing to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes, and said he had assessed how other teams from Premier League history had got out of trouble to draw inspiration for their survival hopes.
He said: "We're in a bad run, individually players are not playing anywhere near where they can play, we're scratching around to pick the right team and system, and happens when you're in that run, but I have to say they were really good as well.
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"With the numbers we've got and the games we've played, of course it's going to impact on their confidence. It's an absolute fact, a natural situation to be in. Players doubt themselves, individually and as a collective, and that's only natural and normal.
"We have to snap out of it sooner rather than later, we've talked about teams going on unbeaten runs, but the examples we talked about, they got out of it with one big performance and result. We are looking for that and have to look to Thursday night and then next Sunday, and then the next one to improve the belief and confidence of the side.
"We've just got to keep going, we can't keep talking about it, me believing it, they've got to produce performances and give me something to believe in as well. From our point of view, we're not showing anywhere near what we have and can produce.
"Even in the games we've had this season, people keep saying they've been tight, but we have to make better individual decisions. They were brighter, sharper, if they didn't win the first ball, they'd be onto the second, and that allowed them to control the game. You could see a team full of confidence."
