The ‘spygate’ saga involving Southampton took a fresh twist on Tuesday morning as a big update emerged on the future of head coach Tonda Eckert.

Eckert took over at Southampton on an interim basis in November following Will Still’s dismissal before being appointed permanent manager the following month, and he led them to fourth place in the Championship after staying unbeaten in their final 19 regular-season games.

The Saints qualified for the play-off final with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Middlesbrough in their semi-final, but they were kicked out of the final and given a four-point deduction for the following season after it was discovered that they had spied on the Teesside outfit ahead of the first leg at the Riverside Stadium.

Southampton later admitted to observing the training sessions of two other clubs, Oxford United and Ipswich Town, throughout the season, and it was also claimed that junior members of staff felt pressured to carry out the espionage missions asked by Eckert.

Eckert broke his silence in a video shared on the Saints’ social media platforms on Tuesday, with the 33-year-old apologising for the events that led to the club being removed from the play-off final and conceding that he is “responsible for everything that has happened”, but he also claimed that there was a “bitter irony” to the punishment as the spying had little effect on outcomes on the pitch.

While Eckert may face a ban as a result of an ongoing FA enquiry, Southampton owner Dragan Solak has confirmed that the German has his “full support” to continue as head coach, characterising him as “a super-talented manager.”

Simon Jordan reacts as Tonda Eckert receives Dragan Solak’s support at Southampton.

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit. Simon Jordan defended Solak’s decision to continue with Eckert, citing Southampton’s “disproportionate” penalty for the’spygate’ episode.Would I have fired him? Well, they have been sanctioned,” Jordan said on talkSPORT.

“The manager can clearly manage, so what are you going to do, double whammy yourself now?

“What is the point of falling upon your sword now? You’ve been sanctioned.

“Why would you want to have further indications of self harm?

“To avoid this, refrain from cheating.Dragan doesn’t have any integrity because on one hand, he’s prepared to argue the principle of the fact that there is an offence here that’s cheating, but doesn’t really value it that much,” Jordan continued.

“I don’t blame him because his belief is that the manager will get you to the promised land, and we’ve been sanctioned.

“To some extent, I understand why he would do that.

“Why should you fire the manager? “Who are you doing this for?”Do your fans want him fired? Probably not.”

Dragan Solak should be praised for his brave Tonda Eckert attitude at Southampton.

Following the’spygate’ controversy, Solak could have easily fired Eckert, especially because many Southampton fans were screaming for his departure.

However, the Saints were given the harshest of punishments for their actions after being kicked out of a game that could have earned them a return to the Premier League and over £200 million, so Solak understandably feels that there should be no further consequences from the saga, and he should be praised for not caving in to pressure and standing by his manager.

Of course, Eckert has a lot of work to do to win over Southampton supporters who are still furious and frustrated with him, and he’ll have to hit the ground running next season, but he deserves the chance to redeem himself and learn from his mistakes.