Ralph Hasenhuttl Hails Southampton's Win Over Fulham as 'First Step' Toward Safety

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes his side's 2-0 victory over Fulham was not only important, but also his side's first step toward Premier League

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes his side's 2-0 victory over Fulham was not only important, but also his side's first step toward Premier League safety. 

First half goals from Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse moved the Saints ten points clear of 19th place Fulham, but more importantly lifted them out of the bottom three at Cardiff's expense on goal difference.

A big 3️⃣ points secured at St Mary's! 😍#saintsfc pic.twitter.com/XfftV92pA0

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) February 27, 2019

The Austrian, who was speaking to the BBC after the game, was content with his team's overall performance, yet noted that the manner of the victory was one of the more pleasing aspects of Wednesday night's Premier League victory.

"It was a very important win for the whole club. We are out of the relegation zone now but it was only the first step and it was an important one against an opponent that never gave up," said the Saints' boss.

"It was a professional performance and we switched the speed at the right moment which is why we scored."

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Having defended well throughout the 90 minutes against a poor Fulham side, Southampton recorded their first clean sheet since January. 

He added: "It's the first clean sheet in a long time and we showed we can play without mistakes. We had more experience on the pitch today. We knew that it was a very important game because we play against Man United and Tottenham next, so maybe today was the easiest game to take three points."