The Austrian's departure now seems to be a subject of when, not if, with first-team coach Ruben Selles set to take over in the near future when the choice is ultimately made.

Hasenhuttl's terrible team was defeated by goals from Miguel Almirón, Chris Wood, Joe Willock, and Bruno Guimaraes. When asked if he could see a route ahead, Hasenhuttl responded, "Not just now. I can't say we don't make a lot of efforts to improve and play football; I believe we do it well, and we can't deny that we tried. But despite our efforts on the field, we are not accepting the credit.

Would he move without being prodded? Since I've been here, I've made a lot of decisions. The good news is that I am not required to take this one.

Eddie Howe took over at Newcastle on Tuesday of last year, when the squad was in danger of being relegated. His reimagined team is now in the top four in the Premier League. As Hasenhuttl, whose Southampton team was in first place two years ago, has discovered to his detriment, football moves on.

Selles will likely take over during the World Cup break, if not earlier. He will take over a team that lacks confidence and has only won once in its previous nine games.

They had two great opportunities to end the game in a draw at most even at 1-1 yesterday, but when you are having trouble, they never go in.

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Hasenhuttl remarked, "They demonstrated why they are where they are, and we demonstrated why we are where we are.

"You may attribute the goals to quality or luck; either way, they were scored. Five to four shots were on target, with a one to four outcome.

Newcastle United, as Hasenhuttl said, did not always exhibit top-four talent in the strictest sense, but they undoubtedly today had the sharpness in front of goal that distinguishes winners from losers.

Howe stated, "I have urged the guys to savor this occasion and take in what they are accomplishing seriously. "The highlights were the goals; I didn't think our overall play was very strong. Even though we weren't at our best, we persisted and used clinical behavior as necessary to complete the task.

Almirón's eighth goal in as many games gave them the lead early on, and Southampton's dreams of rallying, as they did against Arsenal two weeks ago, were dashed by goals from substitutes Wood and Willock in a span of two minutes.

Romain Perraud's gutsy late goal offered some solace, but Guimaraes' fourth goal for Newcastle came right after.

Howe stated later, "We're in a scenario where we're just trying to give it everything in every game and do the organization proud.

"[Pep Guardiola] is a person I respect, but I'm not sure if this is an honest assessment or an effort to increase pressure at the moment!

We were in a relegation struggle last year, so we're trying to enjoy what we're doing now and concentrate on trying to accomplish more".

                            Full time

Southampton         ⚽            Newcastle united 

R. Perraud 89'                         Miguel almirón 35'

                                                  C. Wood 58'

                                                  J. Willock 62'

                                      B. Guimarães 90+1'

Stadium: St. Mary's stadium 

Comment below with your thoughts on this weekend's action-packed events and whether Newcastle is currently in a title battle as Pep Guardiola has indicated?