Ralph Hasenhuttl insists he will hold his head up and keep fighting through the tough period he's encountering at Southampton, whose slump has seen him installed as favourite in the dreaded Premier League sack race.
Saints have won just a single point from the last seven games to see them languishing second-bottom of the table going into the international break, with the inevitable questions about his future circulating.
This international break, the last before the January transfer window, is often the time when team owners get itchy trigger fingers and there's no surprise to see Hasenhuttl as 11/8 market leader for the next premier League manager to leave.
Southampton's game with Everton at the weekend was billed as a 'loser gets sacked' contest, and it was Marco Silva's side who emerged with the much-needed three points - although he will remain under pressure until the Toffees string together a run of results.
It's Hasenhuttl, though, who seems under immediate pressure after the Everton result, and following a 9-0 thumping by Leicester at home - but he insists he's ready to battle through.
"In the moment it is not nice but this is also this job," Hasenhuttl said. "It's not always nice, it's not always winning games, it's not always celebrating with the fans.
"It's sometimes being out there and a little bit disappointment about what happened in the moment. But this is my job to hold the head up and try to find the right decisions."
It's a huge period for the Austrian coach when the Premier League resumes, as his current eight points from 12 games was the same total Mark Hughes had last season before he was eventually sacked.
Southampton's next six fixtures
- Saturday November 23 - Arsenal (A)
- Saturday November 30 - Watford (H)
- Wednesday December 4 - Norwich City (H)
- Sunday December 8 - Newcastle (A)
- Saturday December 14 - West Ham United (H)
- Saturday December 21 - Aston Villa (A)
Southampton's fixtures after the international break will have a huge impact on Hasenhuttl's future, with under-pressure Arsenal followed by games against the other four teams alongside them in the bottom five.
"I think it's not a big topic that we didn't win a game at home because the last games away we also didn't win. We must take a good result," said Hasenhuttl.
"If it's tight - like it was against Man City (a 2-1 loss) - and we still don't get something then it means we're not good enough in the moment. Why we're not good enough, this answer is to find.
"We do a few things good but in a few things when we try this we're not good enough and this is the problem."
