Southampton boss Tonda Eckert has implemented significant changes at St Mary’s Stadium, and supporters of the Championship club will be surprised by some of them.
Will Still’s successor has reignited the Saints’ play-off hopes, and his side were particularly impressive on 8 March when they knocked Premier League Fulham out of the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, as reported by Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg via X, Eckert is being closely monitored by Bundesliga and Serie A clubs.
Amid top-flight interest in his services, Southampton may have to clinch promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs to retain their boss.
Tonda Eckert brings changes to Southampton amid Championship play-off battle
Southampton have been one of the second-tier’s best teams since the turn of the year, and have given themselves every chance of beating the likes of Wrexham and Derby County to a top-six place.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Saints’ rise under Eckert in recent weeks is that the 33-year-old had never been a first-team boss before, having been promoted from the Hampshire club’s Under-21s set-up.
Southampton technical director Johannes Spors told the Daily Mail: “I was convinced Tonda would be a first-team manager when I hired him for the Under 21s (last July), I just didn’t know when and where.
“I didn’t even know if it would be at Southampton. You always have this question mark, ‘Is he ready?’ when he has never done it before, but I thought he was.
“I thought about it in the summer, but I felt it was too early. After three months with the Under 21s, I could see he was ready. I think those three months were extremely important for him.”
The Mail’s report added that Spors interviewed over 10 alternatives before giving the managerial reins to Eckert.
Meanwhile, one of the first things that Eckert did after being appointed as Saints boss was to tell every member of staff at the club to smile a bit more.
The Southampton boss told everyone at Staplewood training ground to give as much energy as they could to the players, and one source told the Mail the 33-year-old wanted to ‘breathe a bit of life back into the place.’
Additionally, Eckert appointed the German brain-training company neuro11 to strap electrodes to his players’ heads and analyse the set-piece takers’ run-ups.
The former Under-21s boss has also convinced the Saints hierarchy to appoint more psychologists and analysts, and he frequently holds one-on-one meetings with players.
According to the Mail, Eckert was having all three of his daily meals at the training ground early in his tenure.
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The German also makes his substitutions based on the minutes data tells him to, rather than reacting to the match scenario, which can be noticed by supporters.
Tonda Eckert decisions will go down as a masterstroke if Southampton win promotion
Some of the changes that Eckert has made at Southampton will raise eyebrows, but they certainly prove that the former Genoa assistant coach is a meticulous individual.
Meanwhile, when the German replaced Still, the Saints appeared unlikely to launch a play-off bid, but have now given themselves every chance of finishing in the top six by performing well at the business end of the season.
If Southampton go on and clinch a spot in next season’s Premier League, just one year on from a woeful top-flight campaign, Eckert’s wholesale changes at St Mary’s Stadium will be recognised as strokes of genius.
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