Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse given tough love

Ward-Prowse was the 19th man at the John Smith Stadium, which meant he was only there in case of an emergency.

Since then, he’s battled his way back into the first team and has been lauded for his efforts by Hasenhuttl.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has been impressed with Ward-Prowse

The 24-year-old said: “That’s been difficult, when a new manager comes in you want to impress and you want to be in his plans.

“I travelled to Huddersfield and I was 19th man, that hit me quite hard.“I was thinking ‘What’s going on here?’

“But, it’s never been in my nature to be like that (sulking) I’m the kind of person who cracks on and tries to prove them wrong, in training I try to keep my head down as a player and a person

“Then two weeks later at Derby I was captain. That was a bit of a change around and I’ve been pleased with how I’ve kicked on for the last couple of weeks.

“He was obviously impressed enough to keep me in there. There are so many ups and downs that you have to make sure you’re ready when the opportunity comes.”

Ward-Prowse captains Saints against Derby

It’s been widely documented that Hasenhuttl has held individual meetings with his Saints players to find out about their strengths and weaknesses.

And one of the things he pointed out to Ward-Prowse was to toughen up if he wants to play as a central midfielder in his team.

In the last four matches Saints have played, Ward-Prowse has started all of them and has shown an added bite to his game that’s even seen him deployed as a right wing back.

“He’s had a few chats with everyone, he’s told people their strengths and weaknesses,” the academy lad added.

“He wants more of me if I want to be a central midfielder in his team. He’s obviously been impressed. 

“I have been [more aggressive] since he’s told me. If you are on the front foot and getting the ball up the pitch, you have to be able to win tackles. It’s good that I’ve been given that information so that I can work on that.”

The win at Leicester marked Hasenhuttl’s third victory with the club since his arrival last month, which is more than former boss Mark Hughes had managed this season.

Ex-Saint Mark Hughes

Saints are walking out onto the pitch with a clear understanding of what their manager wants them to do.

And Ward-Prowse thinks the level of detail and communication Hasenhuttl gives them is the reason behind their current form.

Ward-Prowse said: “The difference has been unbelievable, we have a clear structure and a plan of what do with and without the ball.

“You can see in the performances and games we’ve had, there’s an idea and a philosophy, and that’s grown.

“We’ve had good and bad results, but the progress is there to be seen and that’s the way the club needs to be going.

“We’ve done quite a lot of video work of the ideas he wants to implement, it’s up to us in the short amount of time we’ve had with him to go and do it. He’s been impressed with the way we’ve adapted to his style of play.

Ward-Prowse has responded well to Hasenhuttl's tactics

“It’s good to have a manager who can communicate well with you and tell you what he wants in his team.”

The midfielder also admitted that it was the right time for Hasenhuttl to take charge of Saints.

“It was needed. We had that similar feeling when Mark Hughes came to us at the end of last season,” Ward-Prowse revealed.

“You can see the way this manager wants to play, it’s exciting for me as a player to be part of it”