Southampton boss Eckert apologises for Spygate but should he be sacked?

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has taken full responsibility for the Spygate debacle that led to the club being chucked out of the Championship playoffs.

Before the Championship semi-final playoff between the Saints and Middlesbrough, an intern analyst was spotted spying on Boro's training session.

Middlesbrough train in Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth-on-Tees, just outside Darlington. While other teams may have a training ground away from prying eyes, this one is in full view of the public as it's part of a luxury spa and golf resort built by club owner, Steve Gibson.

The Southampton performance analyst brazenly stood at the top of a small hill and began a video call, live streaming the Boro training before a Boro member of staff approached him.

He ran away, got changed in the dressing room inside the golf resort, and quickly left the premises.

However, CCTV and a description from the Boro member of staff allowed the perperator to be identified on Southampton's staff roster on their website.

A personal message from Head Coach, Tonda Eckert. pic.twitter.com/dHlDdF6XFd

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) June 2, 2026

The club were found guilty of improper sporting conduct and removed from the playoff final. Middlesbrough were reinstated but lost to Hull anyway.

In addition to missing out on promotion, the Saints will be docked four points for the beginning of next season, while the club faces a player revolt as the squad is unhappy to be missing out on major wage increases and bonuses through no fault of their own.

"For everything that's happened, I do want to apologise and I hold my hand up because as a head coach I am responsible. I am responsible for everything that has happened in this football club," Eckert said in a video posted by the club.

"I do apologise to the supporters, to everyone who has travelled with us, who has supported us over so many games, to the ones who have shared emotions game by game, who have managed to bring us all the way up to the very end of the season where we were supposed to play the biggest game of the season.

"I apologise to the players who have done absolutely everything that they can, absolutely everything in the last six months to bring this football club back to where it belongs."

Will Eckert be sacked?

Many Southampton fans, and maybe some of the players, believe Eckert should be sacked over the incident as it potentially cost the club hundreds of millions in revenue.

"Southampton see Eckert as an excellent young manager," says Steve Grant, co-host of the Total Saints fan podcast.

"While this stuff has happened, from their perspective I think it would be foolish to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

"There is a real split between people saying 'let's not overreact, we've got a really good manager' and the opposite side taking the moralistic view and saying, 'we've been caught cheating and he has gone beyond the line of acceptability'.

"Keeping him would be a big risk. But football fans are very fickle and if he wins a few games at the start of next season then people will forget about this."

Eckert has publicly received the backing of Southampton owner Dragan Solak, so it looks like he'll be in the dugout at St.Mary's next season.

"I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him," he told BBC Sport.

"My full support would be behind him actually, because I think he's a super-talented manager. I believe Tonda that he didn't know that it was the rule that he was breaking.

"My personal opinion, and the opinion of the board, is that he is a manager who deserves to be backed by us and to be supported by us. I will obviously seek advice from the team. I will seek advice from the players, from the fans. But yes, if it's ultimately my decision, he stays."

Solak also mentioned that the practice of spying on opposition training is a common practice in the likes of Germany and Italy and that Eckert didn't understand the severity of the offence.

However, Solak said he also gave Eckert a warning. "I told him: 'You almost broke my heart. You do it again, you'll kill me. The next time I see you in July, if you don't know the EFL book of rules by heart, you can't work for me. Because, we can't have another mistake.'

"I truly hope that he will learn from this experience and he will achieve an incredible career."

Hull eventually won the playoff final and they gained promotion alongside league winners Coventry and runners-up, Ispwich.