Ex-Southampton striker Charlie Austin has criticised Ralph Hasenhuttl after the Austrian was sacked as Saints boss earlier this week.

The 55-year-old has been tipped to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Rangers manager but Austin has delivered a damning verdict on his management style:

“It was all about him. He was quick to throw the team under the bus when the team was doing poorly. But when they were doing great, it was all about him. When you’re being asked if you can get out of a blip and you say, ‘No’, I don’t think any manager can say that. You need to galvanise your team. Even if you don’t believe it, you need to say you can turn it around.”

“He was there for four years and his highest point tally was 52 points, the rest it’s been low forties. Have they finished in the top-half since he’s been there? No. Can you say it’s a success? You would have to say no – but because he’s kept in the Premier League, you could say yes. It depends on what the ambitions of the football club are.”

It should be pointed out that Hasenhuttl sold Austin to West Brom just nine months after arriving at St Mary’s so he may have an axe to grind with his former manager.

However, it doesn’t put Hasenhuttl’s management skills in a particularly good light. You have to wonder how he would handle players like Alfredo Morelos, who has needed a great deal of personal attention from the likes of Steven Gerrard and van Bronckhorst over the years to get the best out of him.

If, as Austin says, Hasenhuttl is prepared to throw his team under the proverbial bus, then it is debatable whether he would be the right fit for this current crop of players.