Southampton have been hailed as one of the teams of the year after sticking with their boss.

Ralph Hasenhuttl guided his side to a 1-0 win over Manchester City followed by a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford as they continue to improve.

Saints kept faith in the Austrian after their 9-0 defeat at home to Leicester City earlier this season.

Albion head coach Graham Potter said: “They have done really well.

“The last few games they’ve been really good from lockdown, restarted well.

“All credit to them. They could have made an easy decision, a decision a lot of football clubs would have made in terms of changing after a really damaging result.

“But credit to Ralph, his staff and the players, how they have used that to galvanise them, used that to improve.

“I think they have been one of the teams of the season, to be honest, in terms of recovering from that huge setback.

“They realised what a good coach Ralph is, they recognised how they can support him.

“They recognised what they needed to work through as a club and they have got the rewards for that because they’re a good team.

“They have got a good idea of what they do are doing, they recruited well, of course.

“They have got a strong team and a balanced side.

“I think they’ve done really well.

Potter played for Southampton when they were at the Dell but says things have changed a lot since then.

He added: “They have progressed as a club, of course.”