Southampton are preparing for the upcoming Championship season, hoping to rebound from the spying scandal that dashed their promotion aspirations last season.

The Saints advanced to the play-off final, but were eliminated after being found guilty of violating the EFL’s regulations regarding spying on opposing clubs.

The Hampshire club acknowledged to three instances of spying, including one against Middlesbrough before the first leg of their play-off semi-final.

Tonda Eckert is still being investigated by the Football Association for his involvement in the scandal, although he is still in charge of the Championship side for the time being.

The German is facing a football ban, but no decision has been made, despite the fact that the team has already resumed pre-season.

Eckert received a lot of credit for leading Southampton to fourth position in the table after taking over in November of last year, when the squad was suffering in the bottom half.

Gareth Barry supports Southampton’s Tonda Eckert decision.

Gareth Barry has endorsed Southampton’s decision to keep Eckert, despite the possibility of his being suspended from football, saying he would be difficult to replace following his superb performance last season.

The Saints are expected to compete for a top two slot in the 2026/27 season, despite Eckert’s prospective ban.According to Barry, it has been a major topic of discussion at Southampton and will remain so this season.I admire how they kept with the manager; he’s a young manager who showed promise last season.

“He would have been hard to replace.”They have the points deduction to cope with, but I believe the team is capable of competing again.

“It would not be surprising if Southampton is in contention for the play-offs (where the top eight teams in the league qualify) or even automatic promotion this season.”The squad has already been enhanced by the signing of players.

“I am eager to observe the manager’s response to the pressure this year.”

Eckert took on his first head coaching post when Southampton named him as interim manager in November.

After a promising start in the post, he was appointed as Will Still’s permanent replacement.

The German led the Saints to fourth place in the table and to the FA Cup semi-finals, where they were defeated 2-1 by Manchester City.

Southampton fans are concerned about Tonda Eckert’s future due to the FA’s lengthy probe, despite the 33-year-old’s popularity.

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Southampton’s campaign begins on August 16 with a trip to Watford.

Southampton made a gutsy decision to stick with Tonda Eckert.

The initial reaction to Southampton’s elimination from the play-offs caused many to expect Eckert to depart quickly.

However, the club has been patient and has made the daring step of sticking with him even though he faces the risk of being banned from football.

The 33-year-old did an excellent job turning things around last season, but the spying controversy overshadowed all of his efforts.

If he avoids a ban, he has a decent chance of leading Southampton to another promotion push based on his previous season’s performance.