The Saints cult hero loves the relationship between the various parties at St Mary’s and says Ralph Hasenhuttl’s arrival was a big part of this.
Southampton cult hero James Beattie has praised the tight-knit connection between the various parties at St Mary’s Stadium – manager, team, fans, community and club – citing the way the Saints announced one of their summer signings as testament to everyone wanting to be on the “Ralph Express” (official website).
Since Ralph Hasenhuttl took the Southampton reins late last year, not only did performances improve to the point that Premier League safety was secured, but the whole atmosphere at the club has become a lot more positive than in some previous seasons.
At the start of July, the Saints signed Che Adams from Birmingham City – where Beattie currently plies his trade as coach – and, as with the earlier signing of Moussa Djenepo, the south coast club made the announcement on Twitter with a creative cartoon, this one featuring a cameo from Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
Beattie told the official Southampton website: “The relationship between the team and the fans, the manager and the fans, the club and the community… everything is helped by the performances.
“Now everybody wants to be on the Ralph Express! With the way you announced Che, I was laughing my head off, showing all the boys at Birmingham’s training ground – it was great. It all helps make everybody more motivated to think of new things and everybody wants to get involved.”
Adams made the switch to the Saints from Championship side Birmingham on a five-year-deal for a reported £15million fee after three years at St Andrew’s, where he scored 38 goals in 123 appearances (BBC Sport).
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