Ralph Hasenhüttl finds space to instil change in Southampton’s youngsters

The former Southampton manager Nigel Adkins infamously told reporters that the biggest room in his house was the room for improvement but the incumbent at St Mary’s, Ralph Hasenhüttl, tends to use a different analogy when it comes to analysing progress, with the club looking up and hopeful of a top-half finish for the first time in five years.

“Sometimes it is a little bit easier for the young lads because the hard disk is not so full,” Hasenhüttl says. “It is a little bit empty and then you can put things on it easier. The older players need sometimes to put in a little bit more energy to change things because old habits are there. If you want to change them, it takes a lot of energy but they still never stopping trying.”

Impressive strides have been made across this Southampton team, from the teenager Tino Livramento, who is enjoying a breakthrough season, to the quiet evolution of the captain, James Ward-Prowse, via the revival of Oriol Romeu and the unlikely comeback of the goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who turns 34 next month. Romeu has been at the club for seven years but is arguably playing his best football and Forster, who made one Premier League appearance in three years before returning to the lineup at the beginning of last year, has been vital during a run of one defeat in 11 matches which has also earned an FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to West Ham. Mohamed Elyounoussi, another player whose days once appeared numbered, has impressed, too.

Livramento, a £5m recruit from Chelsea, should be in the conversation for the signing of the season given the way he has excelled, and everywhere is evidence of enrichment. The on-loan Chelsea striker Armando Broja has been a gallant presence, striking up a fine partnership