Southampton: New Saints boss Hasenhuttl reveals summer Bayern snub
By Marc Walker
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that he turned down the chance to become Bayern Munich manager in the summer.
In an interview with Bild – via fellow German outlet TZ – the Austrian said that the Bundesliga giants contacted him before Niko Kovac was appointed as their head coach.
Hasenhuttl left RB Leipzig in May after guiding them to second and sixth-placed finishes in the German top-flight as well as European football.
Speaking to the German media, he said:
"I said at the time with full conviction that I was not yet that far along. Some may have ridiculed this statement, but perhaps they think differently about it now after the developments of the last few months. Having titles and championships on your CV currently helps immensely to survive at Bayern Munich as coach."
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After the 51-year-old’s exploits in Germany, it can be considered something of a surprise to see him take the Southampton job as his next step.
The Saints are currently in the worrying position of 19th in the Premier League and will need to their fortunes to turn around to survive relegation to the Championship.
They played their first game under the guidance of their new boss at the weekend but fell to a 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City.
Hasenhuttl’s style of play and management will provide a fresh start though and he has experience of managing teams lower down the league in the past.
He started his managerial career with German minnows SpVgg Unterhaching and VfR Aalen before moving to a bigger stage with Ingolstadt 04.
Despite them only being a small team too that attract around 15,000 fans to their home game, he guided them to their first ever promotion to the Bundesliga, although they have since been relegated back to 2.Bundesliga since his departure.
Hasenhuttl has taken a high pressing and energetic style with him wherever he has gone though and this will be most welcomed by the Saints once he gets his methods across to his players.
Since losing Ronald Koeman to Everton back in 2016, poor performances have littered the last three seasons with managerial appointments not paying off.