After a difficult first half of the season, do Southampton have what it takes to play themselves back into play-off contention?
Coming into a season full of fresh hopes and new beginnings, the last thing Southampton and new Sporting Director Johannes Spors would have hoped for was an early-season change of manager.
But the man who was hired to lead the Saints’ sinking ship back to the Premier League, Will Still, was sacked just three months into the Championship season.
After the sacking of Still in November, interim boss Tonda Eckert turned his temporary stint into a permanent role after winning six out of eight games.
A challenging period followed, during which the Saints went seven league games without a win. But the 33-year-old German manager has responded excellently since, and a much-needed tactical switch-up looks to have set the side back on course.
Southampton have truly made a meal of it thus far, but the play-off places really aren’t out of sight…
Since Tonda Eckert’s first match in charge of Southampton, the side has ranked sixth in the Championship table, with 28 points from 17 matches – an average of 1.64 points per game.
A seven-game winless spell made the German head coach’s fast start look like a stroke of luck, but the tactical switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, platforming the squad’s best players in their natural positions, has since has made the Saints look like a formidable Championship side.
Beating Sheffield United and Stoke City without an enormity of fuss, and taking a commendable draw away from Fratton Park, has shown that this squad has what it takes.
When asked about being in play-off contention, Saints boss Eckert said: “We have many games at home now, in February. It’s important to make sure that we take our points at home.”
Sitting eight places and seven points off the play-off spots makes the job in hand much harder, but a promising run of fixtures, and, as Tonda mentioned, a good few at home, could be a massive momentum builder.
7 Feb – Watford (H)
10 Feb – Leicester City (A)
21 Feb – Charlton Athletic (H)
24 Feb – Queens Park Rangers (H)
28 Feb – Sheffield Wednesday (A)
In their next two games, the Saints face two managerless teams before playing two out of three games against sides in the relegation battle in the matches after.
If by the end of February, Southampton can take results out of these five fixtures, the back end to the season could be looking even more promising.
A campaign that has been as tumultuous as the rest of the time the Southampton faithful have watched in horror under ownership group Sport Republic, the least this squad can do for the fanbase is give them something to cheer about.
