Tonda Eckert could afford himself a wry smile at today’s press conference. Ahead of his team’s trip to Hillsborough tomorrow, his side has gone seven matches unbeaten in the Championship. Another win tomorrow should put them firmly in contention for a play-off place.

Since Eckert took the role as interim and then permanently, Southampton have secured the most points, scored the most goals, had the most shots on target, and, crucially, had the most wins in the Championship.

None of that means very much at this stage; it’s just confirmation of a job well done. Now that the team are in a position to fight for promotion, they will need to keep their foot on the gas if they are to make the progress under Eckert count.

Eckert respects his fellow countryman

Henrik Pedersen, on the other hand, is not having anything going his way at Sheffield Wednesday. His team are already relegated, having been deducted 18 points and accumulated just 11 points across a dismal season so far.

Eckert was respectful and empathetic toward his fellow countryman despite getting the upper hand with a 3-1 win against the Owls at St Mary’s in only his second game in charge.

“It’s not been an easy situation. I think he’s dealt with it in an outstanding way. I’ve known him for a couple of years now.

“I think he’s a very, very good manager. I think that the teams are always very well prepared. Obviously, they’ve had some changes in terms of players over the season.

“I think he’s always been able to put a competitive team out on the pitch. Big admiration for the job that he’s done.“

Pederson has a very big fan at Southampton

The Saints boss admitted that he was a big fan of Pederson’s work and that he’d done an unbelievable job as an assistant and a manager.

“He left Red Bull Salzburg before I came in, and then he went to Berlin. He’s been in the town I’m from. We’ve crossed paths a couple of times.

“We’ve had some nice conversations on the first time that we met here in England. He’s done an unbelievable job as an assistant for many years and now as a manager. So again, I’m a big, big fan of his work.“

Saints fans will have plenty of sympathy with the Sheffield Wednesday fans. Southampton were themselves deducted 10 points after going into administration in 2008-09. That sent them down to League 1, exactly where Wednesday will start next season.

Wednesday had the added frustration of having an approved bid fall through in February, and further points were deducted for additional breaches of EFL financial regulations.

Although Saints will be strong favourites on Saturday afternoon, they should be wary of taking the Owls lightly. Tonda Eckert has vowed to “go strong“ at Hillsborough.