Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl plans to retire from management at end of his contract

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has dropped a bombshell over his future in management by strongly suggesting he will retire when his contract at St Mary's expires.

The highly-regarded Austrian, 54, insists he does not want to be managing into his senior years "like Roy Hodgson ", who was appointed Watford manager in January aged 74.

Hasenhuttl joined the Saints as Mark Hughes' replacement in December 2018 and led the club out of the Premier League relegation zone to safety in his first season.

Southampton have made steady progress in subsequent campaigns and even topped the table briefly in November 2020, making it the first time they had done so in 32 years.

Hasenhuttl had been named manager of the month in July that year, shortly after he signed a new contract until 2024.

The former RB Leipzig boss has only held five senior managerial roles since retiring from playing in 2004, but he admits he is already weighing up when he will step away from football.

"I always wanted to prove to myself that I could very well work for a club for a longer period of time," Hasenhuttl told German magazine Kicker, per Transfermarkt.

"Hopefully it will be five-and-a-half years here, that's a damn long time in modern football, and then that's probably it."

Hasenhuttl's stint on the south coast is his longest with any of the clubs he has managed.

Should he see out his contract, he will become Southampton's longest serving manager since Chris Nicholl, who was in charge between 1985 and 1991.

Hasenhuttl added: "Five-and-a-half years in the Premier League, that's a lot of energy, regardless of job satisfaction. I can't imagine that I want to do anything else in the coaching job after that.

"And saying no to everything else is also a