The Saints defender has found himself criticised by some fans after errors against Cardiff and Arsenal.
Southampton’s Premier League form has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks and they remain in relegation trouble as the business end of the season edges ever closer.
On Sunday, the Saints slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Arsenal, and one particular player, Jack Stephens, felt the ire of some of the south coast club’s faithful on social media.
The 25-year-old has been struggling for form lately and, after making a mistake against Cardiff, also gifted the Gunners a goal and was hauled off at half time in North London.
However, Ralph Hasenhuttl told reporters that he continued to back Stephens, issuing a reminder of his performances when Maya Yoshida was away at the Asian Cup.
“We dropped points recently because of a few mistakes; we were discussing this a lot and it’s a game of mistakes but you have to learn from them as Jannik Vestergaard did against Cardiff and recovered in the games after,” the Austrian told the official club website.
“It was a step back for Jack in his development against Arsenal and he knows that. I am far away from booing a player on my team or not trusting him anymore, the fact is that he is a young player from the Southampton Way and that means he will learn from this and stop the mistakes.”
Stephens has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Southampton this season, including 17 in the Premier League, and his total for the club currently stands at 73 in all competitions (Transfermarkt).
The draw with Arsenal means that the Saints are now third from bottom in the Premier League table with 24 points from 27 matches, but they are not too far off the pace, just one point behind 17th-placed Cardiff City.
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