Southampton director of football Johannes Spors had revealed why they decided to stick with Tonda Eckert for the forseeable future.
Sport 1 have an interview with him today. He discusses all matters Southampton, including the recent extension of Eckert’s contract.
Eckert was named as interim manager at St Mary’s on November 2nd following the departure of Will Still. He guided them to four wins in five matches over that spell, pushing Southampton from 21st to 14th in the Championship.
That prompted Southampton to make his appointment permanent earlier this month, backing Eckert to continue his early success. According to Spors, though, there was more to it than the early positive showings.
“Even though Tonda is still very young, he simply managed to establish a very good rapport with the team during his interim period,” he said.
“He impressed all of us at the club. The players, the staff, and everyone around him, with a good mix of empathy and clarity in his decisions.
“Therefore, the decision to promote him to head coach was only logical and consistent. But the process was difficult because the FA in England has very strict rules for young coaches. That’s why we’re happy to have finally achieved it.”
Eckert becomes the latest young coach to be handed a big job in recent years. It’s become a growing trend for younger managers to make the step up quickly.
That’s particularly the case in Germany, with the obvious comparisons being Julian Nagelsmann and Fabian Hürzeler. Southampton will certainly be hoping that their new manager can follow in the footsteps of his compatriots.
Southampton manager could reach the top
Spors believes such comparisons can be made, heaping praise on the Saints boss to continue rising.
“Both of them have obviously reached the very highest level,” he added.
“I certainly wish Tonda the same – but we’ll see. Comparisons are definitely possible: He’s a very young coach who’s now starting at a high level and at the same time brings an incredible amount of experience.
“He didn’t come out of nowhere; he’s been working in professional football for a good decade. In Germany, Austria, Italy, and now in England. He was also previously active in England. He’s very young, but exceptionally well-trained and extremely well-prepared.”
