Tonda Eckert has remained a cool and collected customer, even with the Spygate scandal continuing to rumble on.
Refusing to get drawn into making any comments about what took place when a Saints analyst spied on a Middlesbrough training session, the German has – instead – maintained his distance from the controversy, often leaving press conferences when the media have pushed him for a conclusive response.
He will just want his team to do the talking on the 23rd of May, when the Championship playoff final between Southampton and Hull City is supposed to kick off.
The 33-year-old has been complimentary of this team’s mental resolve all season long, and he waxed lyrical again about his side’s fortitude and grit after overcoming Boro over two legs.
Eckert’s compliments about Southampton’s resolve
Southampton really had to keep plugging away to pick up a crucial second leg victory over Kim Hellberg’s men.
Other teams might well have collapsed when Riley McGree opened the scoring in the second leg to gift the visitors a decisive one-goal lead on aggregate, but the South Coast side never flinched.
In the end, Southampton would run out 2-1 victors, drowning out all the noise beforehand of their spying antics, with a polished and determined showing.
It appears as if the revelation of Spygate hasn’t flustered the Saints whatsoever, with Caspar Jander, who stood strong throughout both legs, stating after the first leg stalemate that the controversy “wasn’t a big topic” post-match as they “just tried to play football.”
Eckert’s team is designed to keep battling right until the bitter end, with a 19-match unbeaten run towards the back-end of the Championship season not clinched by fluke.
Indeed, as the proud German stated at the close of the dramatic 2-1 win in the second leg, the side showed “the belief and the character” of a “team that no matter how the game unfolds, we always find a way.”
These emotional comments will be put to the test during the playoff final, though, as Hull City will be sternly standing in their way.
Eckert’s comments will be put to the test
The disrupted build-up to the playoff final clash won’t have helped either team, with Southampton hopeful that all the drama involving Spygate doesn’t mean they fall at the last hurdle.
Hull will be desperate to win promotion at Wembley, and they will have the backing of the wider footballing world, you imagine, who believe the Saints have got to the final through sly means.
Like Jander said before the playoff semi-finals got underway, though, the Southampton players will just need to be tunnel-visioned on the prospect of sealing promotion, rather than getting too caught up in their heads about their tag as ‘cheaters.’
This will be easier said than done, as the outcry if the Saints are allowed to play in the playoff final will be very hard to ignore.
But, Eckert’s men will just be purely focused on gifting the Southampton fans another memorable day out, during what has been an unforgettable season that has demonstrated the south Coast club’s mental resilience.
Only one more win is needed to return to the promised land, as Hull stand in the way of Southampton on May 23rd.
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