RALPH HASENHUTTL has hinted he is planning on quitting management in two years.
The Southampton boss, 54, says he does not want to be a veteran gaffer like Roy Hodgson.
Speaking to German publication Kicker, Hasenhuttl has revealed he wants to leave Saints on a “very healthy footing by 2024” and then walk away.
He said: “I always wanted to prove to myself that I could very well work for a club for a longer period of time.
“Hopefully, it will be five-and-a-half years here, that’s a damn long time in modern football, and then that’s probably it.
“Five-and-a-half years in the Premier League, that’s a lot of energy, regardless of job satisfaction. I can’t imagine that I want to do anything else in the coaching job after that.”
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Should Hasenhuttl stay in his current role for another two years, he would be Southampton’s longest-serving manager since Chris Nicholl, who was in post from 1985-91.
He is said to have already informed Saints’ new owners Sport Republic of his ambitions.
Hasenhuttl added: “Saying no to everything else is also a yes to yourself, and I want that.
“That’s the solid plan and I hope I have the strength to pull it off. [I want to] put Southampton on a very healthy footing by 2024, but then that was it.
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“Then I’ll be 57 years old. I’d like to experience other things and not sit on the bench like Roy Hodgson at 74. Definitely not.”
Southampton endured a difficult campaign last season – finishing in 15th spot.
They begin the 2022-23 season at home to Leeds United.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk