Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach said that Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand that he could spend the rest of the season watching on from the sidelines.

Hasenhuttl sends Bertrand warning

Bertrand is out of contract at the end of the season (Transfermarkt) and, as of yet, it is not clear whether he will put pen to paper on a new deal.

As such, Leach says that the Saints manager may not play the left-back between now and the end of the season as he looks to plan ahead for the 2021/22 season.

The future

The 31-year-old defender has been a loyal servant for the Saints since joining the club permanently from Chelsea in 2014 - he has since managed 240 appearances for the club in all competitions. However, it seems that he may feel his future lies away from St Mary's, and he has every right to that opinion if that is the case.

However, Hasenhuttl also has the prerogative to leave the £9m-valued Bertrand (Transfermarkt) out of the team if he so wishes. The Austrian will now be looking ahead to next season - with a nine-point buffer over the bottom three with six games left to play (Sky Sports), they should be safe for another season in the Premier League - and those who are not willing to commit themselves to the club should not automatically expect to be used before the season is out.

In other news, many Southampton fans were livid over this man's comments.