TONDA Eckert thinks Tom Fellows has had an “excellent week in training” and backed him to play an “unbelievably important” role for Saints in the run-in.
Fellows, 22, has recently lost his position on the right wing to Kuryu Matsuki, who has fired two goals and notched an assist since getting a starting berth.
Eckert started Matsuki over Fellows against QPR to manage minutes, rather than making the switch because of the winger’s recent performances.
Fellows, a summer signing from West Brom, is yet to score for Saints and was also subbed at half-time of their historic 4-3 comeback win over Leicester.
“I’ve seen Tom being excellent this week. Sometimes we manage minutes throughout the games, and Kuryu came in and scored two goals,” Eckert explained.
“You want to give confirmation, but that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Tom’s situation, even though I understand how it will be perceived differently on the outside.
“Tom has had an excellent week in training, and I’m sure that he will be unbelievably important for us for the rest of the season.”
He added: “There are not many teams at this stage of the season who have a team at full strength. We’re in a good spot to compete. We’re in a chase, and that chase is not complete.”
Eckert could reward Fellows’s “excellent” training week by returning him to the starting lineup for Southampton’s FA Cup fifth-round tie on Sunday.
Fellows was absent from the squad for a 2-1 win against Leicester in the fourth round, but did provide an assist for Matsuki in the third round against Doncaster Rovers.
The former England youth international will return to the Hawthorns, where he spent over a decade before joining Saints, when they face West Brom on Wednesday, March 11.
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