Hasenhuettl not worried about Southampton future as pressure mounts

Ralph Hasenhuettl said he was not concerned about his future at Southampton despite the club languishing in the Premier League relegation zone after a dismal 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle United on Sunday.

Southampton are 18th in the standings on 12 points from 14 games after a sixth defeat in nine matches, having spurned a number of opportunities against Newcastle and ultimately being punished for it in clinical fashion.

"I'm never concerned, I always try to do my job," Hasenhuettl told reporters. "I have taken a lot of decisions in my job since I'm here. The good thing is, I don't have to take this one."

After four straight defeats, Southampton had strung together a three-match unbeaten run before losing to Crystal Palace last weekend and desperately needed a response against Newcastle, but they were clearly second-best throughout the contest.

Southampton have only won once since the start of September - a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth - and Hasenhuettl conceded he did not see a way out of the slump in form.

"At the moment, no," he said. "I cannot say the effort was not there. Until the last minute we tried and we put in a lot of effort on the pitch.

"You cannot say the team is not fighting for it, but in the moment we are not taking the reward for the effort on the pitch.

"It's a reflection of what we've done so far. It has not been good enough."

Southampton host Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup in midweek and will travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Saturday in their last fixture before the league pauses for the World Cup.