---
title: "Southampton: Club should’ve kept Hasenhuttl claims Lewis"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/southampton-darren-lewis-not-convinced-by-hasenhutl-sacking/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Mark Murphy"
section: "Podcasts"
published: "2023-02-06T18:10:53Z"
modified: "2023-02-06T18:10:53Z"
---

# Southampton: Club should’ve kept Hasenhuttl claims Lewis

**The Mirror’s Darren Lewis believes [Southampton](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/southampton-fc-news/) should have stuck with former manager [Ralph Hasenhuttl](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tag/ralph-hasenhuttl/) when speaking after their latest Premier League defeat.**

### The Lowdown: Hasenhuttl out, Jones in

The Austrian was [sacked](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12702456/southampton-sack-manager-ralph-hasenhuttl) by the [Premier League](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-news/) side last November after spending almost four years in charge at the club.

A few days later, [Nathan Jones](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tag/nathan-jones/) would be [appointed](https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2022-11-10/announcement-nathan-jones-appointed-southampton-football-club-manager) as the new manager of Southampton, joining from Championship outfit Luton Town.

Since taking the reins from Hasenhuttl, Jones has only managed to [win](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-jones/leistungsdatenDetail/trainer/15622/plus/0?saison_id=&verein_id=180&liga=&wettbewerb_id=GB1&trainer_id=) one Premier League game from his seven games in charge, the rest have all been defeats.

### The Latest: Wrong to sack Hasenhuttl

Lewis claimed that sacking Hasenhuttl was the wrong decision made by the Saints board when speaking on Sky Sports’ [Sunday Supplement](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0WbXmUORihVykVA766iqXH?si=53856496602143bc).

He stated: “I’m still not convinced it was the right thing to do to sack Hasenhuttl.

“The results weren’t great, but what they are trying to do is get a young team to consolidate a place in the Premier League, when you need leadership.”

### The Verdict: Wrong appointment

In our view, Hasenhuttl did incredibly well to keep Southampton afloat in the Premier League.

The lowest he ever [finished](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-southampton/platzierungen/verein/180) with the Saints was 16th and has steadied the ship since surviving by the skin of their teeth under Mark Hughes in the season prior to his arrival.

We believe it was the right decision to part ways with Hasenhuttl, as Southampton were in [18th place](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63443730) at the time he was sacked and on a run of [one win in nine](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63152382).

Prior to taking the job on the south coast, Welshman Jones had never [managed](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-jones/profil/trainer/15622) in the Premier League, so asking him to dig them out of a relegation battle was also going to be a challenge.

Jones hasn’t been the correct appointment, and in our view, it has left the Saints in an [even worse](https://www.skysports.com/premier-league-table) predicament than when he took over.

The Saints manager recently received criticism from Ian Wright after his [post-match comments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M9nigPs3vc) against Brentford, with the pundit claiming he was ‘pointing fingers’ at others and not acknowledging his own mistakes (via [Hampshire Live](https://www.hampshirelive.news/sport/football/football-news/ian-wright-nathan-jones-brentford-8113271)).

It appears that a section of the fanbase may have [turned on](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/nathan-jones-brentford-ivan-toney-bees-premier-league-b2275866.html) Hasenhuttl’s replacement, as chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ are certainly not a good indicator of his start in the St Mary’s hotseat.

So while the board can be forgiven for relieving Hasenhuttl of his duties, it is their decision to appoint Jones that could cause the most damage.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”419212″\]