Southampton are winless in 39 days, and are beginning to slip back into old habits. With just seven days to go until the biggest game of the season – away to fierce rivals Portsmouth, Saints’ boss Tonda Eckert’s authority is beginning to come into question. In a Twitter poll, over 2,000 people had their say […]
Southampton are winless in 39 days, and are beginning to slip back into old habits.
With just seven days to go until the biggest game of the season – away to fierce rivals Portsmouth, Saints’ boss Tonda Eckert’s authority is beginning to come into question.
In a Twitter poll, over 2,000 people had their say – and the results were resounding against Eckert, who put pen to paper on an 18-month deal just six weeks ago.
In his post-match interview, after the 2-1 loss to Hull, Eckert told BBC Sport:
“I live and breathe for this football club, I do everything 24/7 for this football club to get it back on the road and that will continue. Let’s play the game on Wednesday before we talk about if’s and maybes.”
The 32-year-old is clearly starting to feel the pressure, but remains absolute in his intentions.
While the German no longer appears to have the backing of the Southampton faithful after a seven-game winless run in the league, this week the club simply must rally together.
A game against fellow-Championship underachievers Sheffield United stands as the first hurdle.
Chris Wilder’s Blades are looking to launch a play-off bid, and will see a toxic St Mary’s Stadium as a promising place to go and grab points at the moment.
Then after that comes the big one – the south coast derby away at Fratton Park.
The big question on every fan’s mind – does this current Southampton squad have the bottle to go to a fierce rival’s ground and perform? Most don’t think so.
If Portsmouth win their midweek game and then beat the Saints on their patch, they’ll go above their fierce rivals in the table.
Considering Portsmouth were a mid-table League One side when Sport Republic acquired Southampton Football Club in 2022, this would be a fitting way to confirm to Saints fans how badly their ownership has failed.
There is no doubt that Eckert is now under pressure, but the German doesn’t believe so.
After the Saints’ loss to Hull, the 32-year-old said:
“ I was in the changing room for a long time. There were some very hard truths to be told, not just from me but also between the players. It’s all of us together. I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus, and it doesn’t help anyone.”
Eckert’s interim spell in charge, where the Saints won four games out of five, has been quickly followed by poor form through a drop-off in performance levels and lack of tactical variation.
“What character shows in the tough moments are in the moments when you fly. We started off on a honeymoon here, it’s very nice, but every marriage has some moments where it becomes a bit more difficult, now we need to grind it out together” Eckert admitted.
The writing is already on the wall, and a loss away to rivals Portsmouth could spell the end, making Eckert Sport Republic’s latest victim – and manager with the shortest tenure of all seven since 2022.
