All Southampton supporters will be trying to move on from the now-infamous ‘Spygate’ controversy, which denied Tonda Eckert’s team possible promotion to the Premier League and sent shockwaves across the Championship and the wider footballing scene at the end of the 2025/26 season.

The Saints were discovered to have sent an intern analyst to spy on the training sessions of semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, whom they would eventually defeat over two legs before being kicked out of the competition ahead of a proposed final against Hull City at Wembley Stadium, and similar antics were later discovered for previous regular-season fixtures with Ipswich Town and Oxford United.

With popular head coach Tonda Eckert orchestrating a key role in the scandal, Southampton were barred from the play-offs and received an automatic four-point deduction for the next season, however the post-Spygate fallout may not be done yet.

That’s because Eckert is going to be punished as a result of an FA enquiry that found the German guilty of three violations of regulation E3.1, with a potential ban still looming.

Eckert, on the other hand, has kept the public backing of owner Dragan Solak, and while initial reports suggested otherwise, it now looks that the playing squad is on board and eager to support their boss despite being refused both promotion and hefty contractual incentives and wage raises.

Indeed, one can only imagine Southampton will have a siege mentality next season, after the club was widely condemned for the Spygate scandal, and numerous players have since faced the public eye to explain the impact of the scandal before doubling down on their support for Eckert and one another.

Jack Stephens breaks the Southampton Spygate quiet.

The latest player to speak out on the issue is club captain Jack Stephens, who has broken his quiet ahead of the new season.

Stephens has spent nearly his entire career on the south coast, with his voice gaining popularity among fans, and he appeared on 32 occasions last season as Southampton finished fourth before edging out Middlesbrough in the play-offs – and then being knocked out to be replaced by the Teessiders at Wembley.

The 32-year-old did not participate in either of the Saints’ two play-off games, but given his intimate ties to the club, he may have felt the impact of the scandal and punishment more than most.

Speaking to club media, Stephens spoke up about what he described as a “really difficult situation,” but quickly praised the team’s unity and Solak’s backing and transparency, while thanking supporters for their ongoing support.

“I think, to be honest, it was a really difficult situation to go through. “”I didn’t have many answers at the time, so it was a really unfortunate situation for us as players and as a football club.”But these are the types of things you have to recover from, and the guys have been outstanding. The support staff and all of the staff around the club have been outstanding. The owner (Dragan Solak) and the way he openly spoke throughout the summer was amazing to watch because it allows everyone to understand what kind of guy he is, and that’s how we know him.

He’s extremely supportive and loves the club, so I’m pleased that he was able to speak and that the fans who have gone through so much and suffered alongside us can see that. We sense their support every day, and they were with us throughout the season.

Southampton will have a target on their backs in 2026-27.
Though not the fault of the players, who were also unaware of what was going on behind the scenes under Eckert’s covert supervision, the saga has placed an awful target on the backs of everyone at Southampton heading into the new season.

There is, it must be said, a growing sense that a siege mentality is being developed and harnessed within the Saints camp, and players may relish the vitriol that will greet them throughout the season, particularly when they play Middlesbrough.