Ralph Hasenhuttl opens up on "crazy situation" after 9-0 defeat

But the injuries have started to abate and Southampton are back to winning ways after Thursday, with Hasenhuttl challenging his side to raise the levels again when hosting Wolves once more in league action on Sunday.

"I can only speak for myself, but I had the crazy situation that I actually had more support after this 9-0 than after a win sometimes," said Hasenhuttl.

"So it was the opposite, but I can only speak about me, not for the players.

"The people are not stupid, because they can see the team we had available to play, because we had no players any more.

"And then it's always tough, to be 1-0 down after two minutes. This is then not so easy.

"But the important thing is you still know what you are and what your philosophy is and what you want to show.

"If you lose games you have to be criticised, you have to understand this.

"And then you have to stand up again.

"This is what we've done in the past, two or three years together, and this is what we'll do in the future."

Southampton's two 9-0 defeats under Hasenhuttl have been well-documented, with the first coming against Leicester in October 2019 before the February 2 humbling at Old Trafford.

Hasenhuttl insists Saints never lost the belief in their philosophies, even after that hefty loss at United.

"It's not always sunshine, sometimes it's raining," said Hasenhuttl.

"And after the rain then the sun shining can feel even better.

"We never stopped believing in what we're doing.

"We are a team that can play better football than the last three to four weeks."

Saints faced Arsenal back-to-back in the FA Cup then in the league last month, and must now repeat that fixture-list quirk with Wolves.

The St Mary's men beat the Gunners in the cup only to fall to the north Londoners in the Premier League clash.

And Hasenhuttl hopes his side can avoid that same fate when hosting Wolves on Sunday.

"It's not a question of confidence, it's a question of, 'can we do it again?'" said Hasenhuttl.

"This time we have to recover better, everybody has to stay fit and then we have to go again for 90 minutes.

"It's a tough game, they will be motivated and we will have to show up at the weekend.

"It's important now that we show up again in the Premier League this weekend."