Ralph Hasenhuttl will face Dean Smith again in Norwich trip

The Austrian manager was keen to sway conversation away from the fact he will be up against former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, who has now taken over at Carrow Road following his sacking.

Hasenhuttl got the better of him with a 1-0 victory at St Mary’s before the international break – a fifth consecutive loss for Smith, and one that spelled the end of his Villa career.

It’s the first time a manager will face the same club consecutively while spearheading different teams in the Premier League era, but Hasenhuttl says it will be more important to focus on what his own team can do.

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Speaking ahead of the match, he said: “Yeah, definitely it is a little bit strange preparing for this game.

The two bosses will go ahead for a second consecutive time on Saturday (Pic: PA0

“It’s always difficult when an opponent changes the manager, and then we do not have as much information like you would normally. But he knows us, we know him.

“It will be a bit different but we are concentrating on our game, we have had some good games in the past now and we want to concentrate on our development and this is the next game we want to win.”

He continued: “We need for our game to be tactically as flexible as possible.

“We have shown this in the past I think and this is more important for us to concentrate on than any particular shape or habits from the opponents because you never know what you will get.

Ralph Hasenhuttl introduced Lyanco and changed shape to nullify the advancing Villa attack (Pic: Stuart Martin)

“We know Dean Smith, yes, we know the team, yes, a little bit we will speak about both but we will try to concentrate on our game and be prepared for everything that is facing us.”

In the last meeting between the two bosses, Smith’s Villa side were up against the wall for much of the first-half and Saints could have been much further ahead with some clinical finishing.

But Smith made a change to his side’s shape and from thereon, it was much more even match – you could even argue Villa edged it.

And Hasenhuttl has added that the dynamic of the pair facing each other once more can work both ways.

Adam Armstrong's strike settled it in front of the Sky Sports cameras (Pic: Stuart Martin)

He insisted: “It’s easier when you know the opponent, when you see them two or three times playing, you see their habits.

“We have knowledge about Dean Smith and how he wants to play from the last game, but it is now a new team with new players so it can be different.

“For him it is maybe a big advantage because he knows what he has to expect from us. But anyway, we have to take it how it is.”

Hasenhuttl added: “It is a little bit different in preparation for this game but we will show the players a little bit more in our last games of what we have done very good, some things not so good, to improve and hopefully be prepared for the game.”