RALPH Hasenhuttl admitted adding £millions onto the transfer budget is “absolutely” a motivation for the final four Premier League games, with three matches against mid-table contenders to come.
Every place a club finishes higher in the division can be worth over £2million in prize money, with Saints currently 13th ahead of the run-in for the 2021-22 season.
Just six points separate ninth and 15th in the Premier League, with Saints playing three of the sides in that area of the table – keeping a top-half finish possible, despite looking unlikely.
Hasenhuttl has revealed that new owners Sport Republic will allow him to move quicker on transfer targets in the upcoming summer window, but Martin Semmens has admitted they are not ultra-wealthy oil tycoons with deep pockets.
Therefore, little boosts like the prize money attained could be the difference between an extra player, or one with a little more pedigree, ahead of the window opening in June.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Hasenhuttl insisted. “Especially at this time of the season it is very interesting, the table is never interesting but now it is getting so.
“We know that we play against the teams around you and you know, like in the last game against Brighton, when you win it it’s a big step forward, a draw keeps the race open and if you lose you are gone.”
Saints welcome 14th-placed Palace to St Mary’s on Saturday, with Patrick Vieira’s side two points behind them but boasting a game in hand on the run-in.
“It can be the same against Palace, they are behind us so if we win against them they are gone,” the Austrian added.
“So this is the importance of these games now, we have Palace, Brentford and Leicester in the last four games – direct opponents for a mid or top-10 finish.
“This is the goal we have, and I know that we are celebrating our 10th year anniversary in the Premier League with Southampton, so to do this with a top-10 finish would be a great achievement for this club.”
Going into the contest, Hasenhuttl revealed that Saints have a fully fit squad to choose from, with the exception of Tino Livramento – who is set to miss the rest of 2022 with an ACL injury.
“So far, good. We have no more injuries other than Tino. We had yesterday a good session,” Hasenhuttl said. “Palace played on Monday evening – we saw the game, it was an intense one against Leeds.
“They are a team who is playing a similar season to us, some fantastic moments and some moments where the results haven’t been as great. In the end, a good season for all of the things they are doing.
“The semi-final of the FA Cup, this season we made it to the quarter-final. I think it is a very interesting game against a team that has up front good qualities, an organised team at the back that don’t give you a lot of chances.
“We had a tough first game against them, 2-2 draw, where we had a bad start and a good turnaround.”
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