Former Southampton defender Jose Fonte has slammed the south coast side as well as put blame onto manager Ralph Hasenhuttl for the club’s poor form this season.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the Lille centre-back confessed that it has been hard to watch the Saints this season and that he can’t believe how far Southampton have fallen in recent years in the Premier League.
The former Southampton captain was part of a side that featured the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic that also competed in the Europa League, and Fonte believes that Hasenhuttl isn’t the man who can change the club’s fortunes around.
The 35-year-old defender said: “It’s difficult to watch them struggle. It’s painful. Southampton was in such great shape two or three years ago. We were consistently achieving top ten. What can I say? They’re in a bad way, it’s easy for everyone to see that their confidence is not big.”
Fonte added with: “The manager, I don’t know, he doesn’t look like he’s capable of turning things around. I’m not sure if he can do the job, to be honest.”
Will Hasenhuttl turn Southampton's fortunes around?YesNo
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With the Saints sat in the Premier League relegation zone after a shocking start to the season that has seen Southampton lose to the likes of Burnley, Bournemouth Leicester City in the now infamous 9-0 defeat, Hasenhuttl being axed from the job has seemingly been on the mind of supporters.
The Austrian manager arrived with fanfare following his impressive work with RB Leipzig, yet despite some bright moments after nearly a year in-charge of Southampton, Hasenhuttl’s time on the south coast can be regarded as a disappointment.
Although the board still back Hasenhuttl as reported by The Telegraph, there could be yet another managerial change at Southampton in the not so distant future if results continue to slip.
