Ralph Hasenhuttl has sent his Southampton squad away for summer with a vigorous fitness programme, so they aren’t at ‘zero’ at the start of pre-season.
The highly-praised manager will want his players to go and refresh their bodies this summer after a tough 2018-19 season, in which he replaced Mark Hughes and saved the club from relegation to the Championship.
Hasenhuttl said, as cited by the Southern Daily Echo:
I think [pre-season] is not that much different to a normal training session during the week because we are still working hard. The more important thing is that the schedule we gave them in the break they follow because that means they come back in the shape we can start immediately on the pitch. Pre-season for me is something we want to work every part of our game and that means you have to have a level when you come back and that’s why it’s not having seven weeks of rest and do nothing.
He clearly has no intention of fully focusing on fitness in the opening weeks of pre-season though and instead wants the squad to return in good health and fitness, ready to work on the essentials.
There is expected to be a bit of change at St. Mary’s over the summer as the club will look to suit the requirements of Hasenhuttl’s demanding style of play by bringing in fresh faces to add to a promising squad.
