RALPH Hasenhuttl poured cold water on any speculation suggesting he could be the next Manchester United manager and said he was part of “something special” at Saints.

The Austrian boss, who next week celebrates his two-year anniversary on the south coast, was earlier this month tipped by various media outlets to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford.

Hasenhuttl, who signed a fresh four-year deal back in June, has guided Saints to fifth in the top-flight this season, with the St Mary’s side unbeaten in their past seven league games.

They host United in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm).

Asked how being talked of as a future Red Devils manager made him feel, Hasenhuttl said: “It’s not really something I listen to. I don’t read any social media or any other news.

“I find myself sometimes listening to some radio, where they speak about football. It’s interesting to hear them talking about it – analysing our game.

“But I am only interested in what happens here in this club at the moment. I have signed a long-term contract and this is a long-term project for me.

“The way we are improving this club at the moment – in every part of this club – it’s something that gives me so much joy every day.

“It’s so enjoyable to see the development of this club.

“I think there is something special growing here at the moment. That’s the reason why I decided to stay here for longer.”

United go into the contest having sealed three victories on the trot – with successes coming against Everton, West Brom and Istanbul Basaksehir.

Solskjaer’s side are going for eight straight away league wins.

Asked how he planned to stop them, Hasenhuttl replied: “Like always against strong sides – only together. Only with a very committed performance.

“We are able to show some of these performances and we need to on Sunday, because when you see them playing in the Champions League or Premier League last time, it was definitely committed with a lot of quality.

“The guys in front, they can always hurt you.”

He added: “You must be very careful, very concentrated, and on the other side do what we can also do very good.

“In the past games we have shown some patterns in our game that we have not so often seen before – especially with the ball, we are getting better and better.

“This is what you need against such teams, definitely. You need to also hurt them a little bit with your possession and this is the goal for the weekend.”