Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has been left stunned by Southampton’s rapid rise under Ralph Hasenhuttl, telling talkSPORT (10 November, 9am) that he expected the Saints to struggle this season.
Just two months ago, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were 1-0 down and heading for an opening day defeat at Selhurst Park, a week before a humiliating 5-2 home defeat to Tottenham side who, thanks to Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son, brutally exposed their defensive deficiencies.
Few would have expected then, after a thrashing reminiscent of that 9-0 demolition, that Southampton would be fourth in the Premier League and just two points off the top heading into the November international break.
Hasenhuttl’s free-flowing side have won five and drawn the other of their last six games and, after swatting Newcastle United aside on Friday, were sitting pretty at the top of English football for the first time since 1988 – for a few hours at least.
It is fair to say Townsend did not see this coming when Southampton were stumbling at Selhurst Park back in September.
“This surprises me because we played them on the first day of the season and they played a ridiculously high line. We exposed them a bit and came out 1-0 winners,” the £13 million England international explained.
“I remember in the changing room afterwards, we were saying ‘They are in trouble this season. They can’t continue playing that way’.
“And then the next week they shipped five against Spurs and Kane and Son really exposed that high line. But they’ve not lost since and it’s incredible. I must admit, I did not see that coming.
“Fair play to them.”
With four clean sheets in their last six games, Hasenhuttl has certainly succeeded in tightening up the Saints’ backline with £18 million man mountain Jannik Vestergaard playing his finest football since moving to England two years ago.
Che Adams, meanwhile, has seven goals in 13 matches and stepped up brilliantly in Danny Ings’ injury-enforced absence against Newcastle.
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