A new Southampton manager update has been shared from St Mary’s regarding a full-time move for interim boss Tonda Eckert.
Eckert responds to permanent Southampton job rumours
The Saints made the perfect start to life without Will Still in the week, defeating Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at Loftus Road.
Eckert was the man in charge of Southampton following Still’s exit, with second half goals from Jay Robinson and Leo Scienza lifting them above rivals Portsmouth.
The 3-4-2-1 caretaker is once again set to be on the touchline this weekend prior to the international break as St Mary’s play host to bottom side Sheffield Wednesday. Talking ahead of the game, Eckert was asked if he fancied the Southampton job on a permanent basis, to which he said:
“Look, the answer is very easy on this one. My job is to prepare the game today in the best way possible. My job is to prepare the game on Saturday (8th November) in the best way possible. That’s what all my focus is on. It’s going to be three very important days until Saturday. Then we can all take a breath.
“I think the only thing I can do is give energy and give a structure, and prepare them in the best way possible. We’re going to do the same thing for Saturday and hopefully confirm [the improvement] and then we’ll go into a break and go again.”
Now, a new update has emerged regarding Southampton’s position over Eckert.
How Southampton feel about full-time Tonda Eckert move
According to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, Southampton now “consider Eckert a potential candidate for the full-time job” following his winning start in temporary charge.
The 32-year-old’s coaching career has mainly been as an assistant, helping some iconic names such as Patrick Vieira at Genoa and Miroslav Klose at Bayern Munich’s U17 side.
His experience in England came during 18 months as an assistant at Barnsley, with Eckert taking charge of Southampton’s U21s in the summer.
1.FC Koln U17
Assistant manager
2013-2016
RB Salzburg YL
Assistant manager
2016-2017
RB Leipzig YL
Assistant manager
2017-2019
FC Bayern U17
Assistant manager
2019-2020
Barnsley
Assistant manager
2020-2022
Genoa
Assistant manager
2022-2025
Saints gem Moses Sesay has been impressed under Eckert, saying he is an “experienced” coach who “demands a lot” in training and is “big on detail”.
“I’ve enjoyed working with him. I took some time to get a good connection with him, because he was new, but I really like him. He’s a good coach. He’s very experienced. He demands a lot from us in training, but I like that as a player. He knows what he wants, which is good.
“Comparing Calum McFarlane (former under-21s boss) with Tonda, I think Cal was maybe a little bit more technical, but there hasn’t been much of a difference.
“Tonda is big on detail. He’s a very good coach. We’ve had good results since he came in and went a few games unbeaten. It’s been good under him.”
Positive words indeed, and if Eckert makes it two from two on Saturday, his stock could continue to rise.
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