Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, his players and coaching staff have agreed to defer part of their salaries for three months over April, May and June.
The club are the first to do so in the Premier League and say the move is necessary 'to help protect the future of the club' during coronavirus crisis.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
In keeping with government advice, all activity at Staplewood Campus, St Mary’s Stadium and our other sites continue to be suspended except for essential activities. This situation will be reviewed at the end of April.
In addition, the board of directors, the first-team manager, his coaching staff and the first-team squad have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve.
Furthermore, the club can confirm that it will not use the government’s Job Retention Scheme during April, May and June. Our owners, Mr. Gao and Katharina Liebherr, have put measures in place to ensure that all staff not deferring part of their salaries will continue to receive 100% of their pay, paid in the normal way until 30th June. Any decision on the future beyond this date will be made in advance of this, but only when more information is known.
In these unprecedented times we are dealing with many challenges to our business model and day-to-day operations. The situation is ever-evolving and we will continue to monitor and assess the impact to the club over the coming weeks before deciding any further action necessary.
Everyone at the club remains fully committed to the community we value so highly in Southampton. We will continue to offer our full support to the city of Southampton through the work of the Saints Foundation and provide any further assistance we can.
We ask everyone connected to the club and the city of Southampton to listen and adhere to the government’s advice.
Meanwhile, we will continue to prepare our club for a return to the pitch and make sure that, when safe, we are ready to play and serve the people of Southampton again.
Until then, We March On. Together.