Southampton FC technical director Johannes Spors has revealed why Tonda Eckert was appointed as the club’s first full-time manager.
The Saints’ first four months back in the Championship have been incredibly uneven, to say the least. However, there have been evident signs of revival since the 32-year-old was appointed as temporary manager following Will Still’s resignation after 13 games in charge at the beginning of November.
Despite a remarkable short-term turnaround on the pitch at St Mary’s, it was unclear for some time what direction the under-fire ownership group, Sport Republic, and the aforementioned Spors, would take after making yet another managerial change – Southampton’s fourth since they were promoted from the second tier in the play-off final against Leeds United in May 2024 under Russell Martin.
Several managers and head coaches with previous Championship experience were, unsurprisingly, linked with the vacant post immediately after Still was handed his P45 following a 2-0 defeat to Preston North End, before it was claimed that Spors, who has recently been linked with a move to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, would hope to source the club’s latest man in the dugout from Germany.
However, Eckert would go on to have an impressive run of results that would eventually turn heads, particularly after the free-scoring Saints’ statement 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic at The Valley on November 22nd, with all five of their goals coming before halftime.
As a result, the man who was only appointed as Southampton’s Under-21s manager in July, amid a summer of massive change on and off the pitch, was awarded a new contract until the summer of 2027 last week, with Spors later breaking his silence on the club’s plans.
Johannes Spors explains why Southampton FC moved to employ Tonda Eckert permanently.
Since taking over the Saints full-time, Eckert has led the club to its best start to a new management era since the end of World War II, with six wins in seven games.
He won his first game in permanent charge 3-1 over Birmingham City last weekend, followed by a crushing defeat of West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night.
The South Coast side jumped out to a three-goal lead at halftime thanks to Leo Scienza and Adam Armstrong’s brace, bringing the total to 21 goals since Eckert’s debut against Queens Park Rangers on November 4th.
Despite the Baggies’ late rally, the Saints held firm and have ascended to tenth in the Championship table, one point behind Hull City, who are currently sixth.
In an interview with German sports news site Sport1, Spors was asked why it was the perfect time to extend Eckert’s contract into a permanent one for the next season and a half.
“Even though Tonda is still very young, he simply managed to establish a very good rapport with the team during his interim period,” he told me.
“He impressed everyone at the club – the players, the staff, and the wider community – with a good mix of empathy and clarity in his decisions,” Spors explained.
“Therefore, the choice to promote him to head coach was both reasonable and consistent. However, the procedure was challenging because the FA in England has stringent guidelines for new managers. That’s why we’re overjoyed to have finally accomplished it,” the Saints’ technical director said.
Southampton FC will attempt to imitate the successful German coaching model with a permanent Tonda Eckert appointment.
Of course, it is far too early to predict what the long-term prospects are for Eckert and the Saints, but the early indicators are encouraging.
The youthful head coach is also no stranger to the level, having previously worked with Valerien Ismael when Barnsley reached the play-offs in 2020/21 but were eliminated by Swansea City in the semi-finals.
It has also been demonstrated that hiring head coaches with similar coaching backgrounds can be successful in the English game, with Daniel Farke winning the title three times in the last decade with Norwich City and Leeds United, and Fabian Hürzeler earning widespread praise for his impact at Brighton and Hove Albion despite being the same age as Eckert.
Southampton will now hope that a win over Norwich at Carrow Road on Saturday lunchtime will be enough to propel them into the play-off positions, depending on other outcomes.
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