LONDON, Nov 7 — Southampton have sacked manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and are set to open talks with Luton boss Nathan Jones about taking charge of the Premier League strugglers.

The south coast club axed Hasenhuttl today after their eighth loss in 14 league games, a 4-1 defeat against Newcastle, left them languishing in the relegation zone.

The club said in a statement that it was "an appropriate time to make a change”.

"Hasenhuttl, who was appointed in December 2018, departs having made a significant contribution to the club, overseeing some memorable results and also playing a key role in the development of our club infrastructure, identity and playing squad,” the statement said.

Southampton appear likely to move quickly to replace Hasenhuttl after being given permission by Luton to speak to Jones once the Championship team have played their match at Stoke tomorrow.

"Luton Town can confirm that permission has been granted to Southampton to speak to Nathan Jones about their managerial vacancy following the Hatters’ match at Stoke,” said a statement from the club.

"We would like to place on record that the Premier League club have approached the board in the correct manner, for which we are grateful, and that the whole situation is extremely amicable with Southampton and with Nathan.

"As a club we will not be making any further comment until the process is complete.”

Jones has done an impressive job at Luton on a tight budget and led them to the Championship play-offs last season.

The former Brighton defender, who originally took over at Kenilworth Road in 2016 and had a brief spell at Stoke before returning to Luton, has guided them to eighth place in the second tier this term.

Hasenhuttl runs out of time

If Jones is hired by Southampton, his first match is likely to be a daunting fixture at Liverpool on Saturday in the club’s final fixture before the World Cup break.

First-team coach Ruben Selles will take charge on an interim basis for Wednesday’s League Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday.

Hasenhuttl took over from Mark Hughes at Southampton nearly four years ago and the Austrian’s highest finish in the Premier League was 11th in the 2019/2020 season.

He also led Southampton to the FA Cup semi-finals in the following season.

Speaking after yesterday’s home thrashing by Newcastle, Hasenhuttl said he was just focusing on his job despite growing speculation over his future.

"I’m never concerned, I always try to do my job and that’s all that interests me,” the 55-year-old told the BBC.

Hasenhuttl survived two 9-0 defeats, against Leicester and Manchester United, during his time in charge.

He also kept his job even though Southampton lost nine of their final 12 league matches last season.

Hasenhuttl’s coaching team was overhauled during the close season but those moves failed to pay off and the Southampton hierarchy finally ran out of patience following just one win in nine matches, stretching back to August.

He is the fifth Premier League manager to be sacked this season after the departures of Scott Parker (Bournemouth), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea), Bruno Lage (Wolves) and Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa). — AFP