Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has reportedly lost the backing of his squad.

Hasenhuttl’s side started the new Premier League season in disastrous fashion with a 4-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.

AFP

It follows yet another unconvincing campaign for Saints – who finished 15th last term.

Now, the Daily Mail reports that a number of Southampton’s players no longer trust the Austrian and some believe he should have been sacked during the summer.

Hasenhuttl has held the reins at St Mary’s since 2018 and is yet to guide Saints into the top half of the Premier League.

The south-coast side often suffer a difficult start, sparking fears of relegation, before eventually getting their act together and surviving comfortably.

But Charlie Austin, who played under Hasenhuttl during his first season in charge, suggests this might be the season his boyhood club go down.

And the Brisbane Roars striker expects Hasenhuttl to be the first Premier League manager to get his marching orders this season.

“I’ll get hammered for my opinion on the club!” he told talkSPORT.

“They beat the trap door many times in the last four or five season, I just don’t know if it’s going to happen [this time].

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the manager [Hasenhuttl] is the first one to go.”