I understand it completely – Ralph Hasenhuttl knows why Saints fans are unhappy

Ralph Hasenhuttl admits he understands why Southampton supporters rained down criticism of his management as they slumped to defeat at Brentford.

The Bees eased to a 3-0 victory as skipper Pontus Jansson and recalled Yoane Wissa struck in the first half before Kristoffer Ajer’s first Brentford goal all-but rubber-stamped their top-flight status.

Saints, meanwhile, are stuttering towards the end of the season and are still not mathematically safe from the drop, albeit a catastrophic series of results would be required to see Hasenhuttl’s side relegated.

After Hasenhuttl replaced Stuart Armstrong with Oriol Romeu, the away fans began chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” followed by a chorus of “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.

Asked about the negativity from his own fans, Hasenhuttl replied: “At that time they were absolutely frustrated and I understand it completely.

“I take it absolutely, no problem. I am responsible for the results, for the mistakes my players make.

“This is my job. We can understand the frustration because at the moment we are not playing like a Premier League team, especially not in and around the boxes.

“It is not something that should hurt, this is the business. It doesn’t help when I get emotional or whatever.”

The Austrian is now keen to keep his players focused on the final two games of the season, hosting title-chasing Liverpool before a final-day trip to Leicester.

“We knew how we can create but it’s up to us up front to take something from the chances,” Hasenhuttl said.

“Otherwise all the effort we put in is for nothing. We’re far away from having the quality to win games. That’s what we have to change. We are struggling to score goals. It’s not only on our strikers. We have