.......is defined in the Cambridge English Dictionary as "a willingness to give your time and energy to a job, to an activity or to something that you believe in."

That`s a pretty reasonable definition but I suspect for many people commitment can also be exemplified from experiences gained through life`s rich pageant.   For me, I have clear memories of when I realised what true commitment really is.  In my formative years I learnt to swim by the simple expedient of my father throwing me into Southampton Water from a small jetty to the rear of our house at Hythe.  Fortunately the tide was in and I swam alright but I have always thought that that episode not only evoked a sense of commitment for myself but also for my father, who must have known that  my aquatic baptism would be an activity that he believed in.  It turned out OK though.

Now over the last week or two I have been surprised (perhaps I should not have been) by the number of Premier League managers who have lost their jobs so far this season - Xisco Munoz (Watford,) Steve Bruce (Newcastle,) Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham,) Daniel Farke (Norwich) and Dean Smith (Aston Villa.)  And with those dismissals came the usual speculation as to who might replace them.  Some have been resolved already - Claudio Ranieri is at Watford, Eddie Howe at Newcastle and Antonio Conte at Tottenham.  

But it`s the remaining two where speculation has become rife and that is particularly concerning for us Southampton fans when we see that `our` manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl has been linked with both vacancies.  And this is where the business of commitment comes in, for me at least.  Ralph has been at St. Mary` for three years now and it has taken him that time to sort out the wheat from the chaff, bring in new players and begun at last to form a team and a squad in his own image.

During his time with us there have arguably been more downs than ups including two 9-0 drubbings at the hands of Leicester and the Damned United.   Now in normal football times those results alone would have seen the manager shown the door but the response of the Southampton boardroom after the second of those thrashings was to offer Ralph a new four-years contract which showed belief in him as an individual and what he was trying to achieve - a resounding demonstration of true commitment.  Ralph signed the contract on offer and maybe, just maybe we are beginning to see the rewards for that commitment.

So in my octogenarian naivete I hope it`s the case that Ralph will return the compliment, come out and say that he is flattered by the interest shown in him by other clubs but feels that he has a commitment to Southampton, is happy here and is going nowhere.  That would indeed live up to the Cambridge Dictionary`s definition as Ralph has already shown his willingness to give his time and energy to the job at Southampton, which he seems to believe in.   I hope I`m right..