The 51-year-old was a free agent after leaving RB Leipzig in the summer and his managerial debut in England looks a tricky one, albeit things are tight at the bottom of the league at this early stage.
Such struggles are relatively new for the south-coast club who put together four consecutive top 10 finishes under Mauricio Pellegrino, Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel between 2014 and 2017. Those years included two forays into the Europa League and a League Cup final appearance, but last season was a struggle on the south coast.
GettyMark Hughes was able to save them from relegation last term after replacing Manuel Pellegrini, but things haven’t improved from that eventual 17th place finish.
Saints have picked up just nine points from 14 Premier League games this season thus far. Their solitary win is the fewest in the division and came against came against Crystal Palace on September 1.
Those lacklustre results leave Southampton inside the relegation zone although at 7/2 (4.50) for the drop 888Sport believe the club are likely to remain in the top-flight.
The online bookmaker make Burnley 4/9 (1.44) favourites to finish inside the bottom three just ahead of Cardiff (1/2), Huddersfield (11/20) and Fulham (9/10).
Getty ImagesWith just 12 goals scored so far, Saints have the fourth worst attack in the Premier League at the time of writing and have leaked 26 times in the campaign to date.
Kelvin Davies will take charge of Wednesday's clash against Tottenham at Wembley with Hassenhuttl expected to step in for the crucial meeting with fellow strugglers Cardiff at the weekend.
The appointment has seen punters getting stuck into a Saints win, with 888Sport now going 8/5 (2.60) about the Austrian making the perfect start by securing three points in south Wales.
A home game with Arsenal follows before the hectic festive schedule sees Southampton take on Huddersfield, West Ham and Manchester City before the turn of the year.
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