Ralph Hasenhuttl carries on war of words v Leeds
Ralph Hasenhuttl has refused to drop his Leeds United agenda as he once again made reference to the nasty nature of their approach v Southampton.
It has been nearly a full seven days since the south-coast side were pummelled 3-0 at Elland Road but the Austrian is not prepared to let the argument die down just yet.
Southampton made a positive start in West Yorkshire on February 23 but struggled to maintain the intensity they began the match with and were eventually over-powered by the Whites.
Hasenhuttl told Hampshire Live that he saw similarities with his former Ingolstadt side who were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2015.
He said: “When we have an opposition player laying in our box, we play the ball out. When the opposition doesn’t win the ball back they make tactical fouls.
“This is hard to change as this is our mentality and the only problem is that you always get punished when you are correct and stick to the rules in football.
“I changed this sort of behaviour as a manager when I had a year when I was promoted with Ingolstadt to the Bundesliga in 2015 and we were the nastiest team in the league.
“But, in the end, it doesn’t make you happy as a manager. The behaviour we have here at Southampton is normally why I love English football, because players are always honest and they don’t roll away, they try to stay on their feet.”
The stats are in and…
According to Wyscout Southampton have made 293 fouls in the Premier League this season at an average of 10.86 per 90.
Meanwhile, Leeds have committed 289 fouls at a rate of 10.38 per 90.
So it looks like Hasenhuttl may have it wrong on this one.
He claims his side are not ‘dirty’ enough, yet they rank in the top six for fouls per 90 while the Whites barely scrape into tenth.
We think Hasenhuttl should look at the statistics before he opens his mouth again.
While they don’t take into account whether the fouls were ‘tactical’ or the severity of ‘dirtiness’, they certainly do not paint the picture he claims to see.
The more he speaks the more it sounds like sour grapes over the ease at which his Saints side lost at Elland Road.
It will be interesting to see his approach the next time we meet, if they are not dragged into the relegation mire this season.
In other Leeds United news, our view on how the return of a 24-year-old defender could solve the midfield issue.