Ralph Hasenhüttl Raging Over Southampton Inability to Deal With Wind & Burnley's Long Balls

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl was left frustrated with his side's defending, as the Saints lost 3-0 to Burnley in their opening Premier League game on

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl was left frustrated with his side's defending, as the Saints lost 3-0 to Burnley in their opening Premier League game on Saturday. 

Hasenhüttl's men started the brighter of the two sides, with Nathan Redmond proving to be a constant threat throughout the opening 45 minutes. However, three costly defensive errors gifted the game to the home side, leaving the manager less than pleased.

Speaking after the game, Hasenhüttl bemoaned his sides catalogue of mistakes and the lack of composure. As quoted by the club's official website, he said: “In the second half, it was not so easy, and one time we had bad timing on a long ball.

Tough to take...

Thank you to each and every one of the 1️⃣,9️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ #SaintsFC fans who travelled to Turf Moor today: pic.twitter.com/2GUG5JeHHN

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 10, 2019

“What I didn’t like was the 12 minutes after the first goal, when we completely lost our pathway. We lost every duel and that is not the way we want to play.

“For sure it’s not easy to stand what happened, but the reaction was not the best.

“It was clear that you don’t get many chances here, against an opponent who doesn’t give you a chance to win the ball early because they take no risks.

Stu Forster/GettyImages

“Every time it’s long balls but we knew this and we had to adapt our game. In the first half, with the wind, it was easier to defend. In the second half, it was not so easy."

While the manager refused to point the finger at anyone in particular, there were countless individual mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

Southampton will now play host to Liverpool on Saturday 17 August and have a tough task to turn their fortunes around against the champions of Europe.