Will Tonda Eckert still be Southampton manager in 2026/27? | OneFootball

We take a look at Tonda Eckert's situation at Southampton and whether or not he will be at the club next season.

Southampton have endured a difficult and below par 2025/26 season thus far, with Saints in a desperate fight to get themselves into the top six and the play-off places in the Championship.

Having gone through a humbling experience in the Premier League last season where they managed to collect just 12 points, Southampton would have anticipated sustaining a tilt for the top two and the automatic promotion spots in the second-tier this season, especially following the appointment of Will Still.

Performances were unconvincing but much better than results suggested, but eventually those results led to his demise and the former Stade de Reims and Lens coach had to depart early on in his reign last autumn.

Saints underwent a stilted and disorganised summer transfer window and the knives very much remain out for ownership group Sport Republic within the fanbase.

That difficult situation and window did, though, still leave the club with a squad that should be more than capable of getting itself into the top six by the end of the campaign.

Tonda Eckert, previously the assistant to Gerhard Struber at Barnsley and Alexander Blessin at Genoa, has been appointed the U21 boss in the summer but, just a few months later, was placed in charge on an interim basis.

That interim role became a permanent deal within a few weeks of his initial appointment and yet there is uncertainty about his future and whether or not he will still be at St Mary’s next season.

The high ceiling of Tonda Eckert will encourage Southampton

As is the case for any side in the EFL, unearthing a previously unheard of gem is the dream, whether that be managers or players, and there is a good reason for that with plenty of coaches in the last few years, across all three divisions, having been novices, or at least close to that, and soon been sought-after stars delivering promotion success.

It has almost become a cliché in the modern game to take a risk like that – and yet, like all clichés, including that cliché itself, there is reason for it and truth behind it.

So, having appointed a young coach that has come through the German system of coaching with all of what that entails in terms of the high octane pressing and more sophisticated ‘gegenpressing’, Southampton will stick by the fact that Eckert has a potentially extremely high ceiling.

Most clubs cannot afford to take the risk on a manager with a potentially high ceiling because, if they’ve got that wrong, they could be in a perilous state, either on or off the pitch, or both, but while things aren’t perfect for Saints, that isn’t necessarily the case down on the south coast.

There is precedence for someone like Eckert, a 30-something German with no previous experience as a manager nor being in English football, bar that short stint as the U21 boss with the club, having success. Danny Rohl, for example, did an extremely impressive job with Sheffield Wednesday in tough circumstances and he is now in charge of Scottish giants Rangers.

Eckert has also, generally, done a good job in charge of Southampton as they currently sit seventh in the table and just four points outside of the play-off places.

His immediate impact was extremely good, leading to his appointment on a permanent basis, but perhaps more encouraging would be the fact that Southampton have come through a really tough patch in the middle of the season to rediscover some excellent form.

That would suggest that Eckert has the ability to identify and solve problems when they arise, whether that be tactically or psychologically with his players, that is very much something to be excited about – while the intensity and aggression of his teams, at their best, is perhaps more expected as a young German coach, actually getting a squad of players just relegated from the top-flight to buy into his ideas means a bit more – and that appears to be the case.

Weaknesses of Tonda Eckert may be his strengths too

As outlined in an article by saintsmarching.com back in January, in the middle of that poor run of form, there are also plenty of things to be concerned, or at least frustrated, about when it comes to Eckert’s management.

Generally, though, as is often the case with all ideologue coaches, it is the rigidity of thinking, both when they speak and with actions, that can irritate.

For example, as pointed out within the piece, Eckert is very keen on the idea of ‘control’ but, when his system doesn’t appear to be able to, at that moment or more generally, provide that level of control, there is a lack of adjustment.

Rather than tweaks or an acceptance of wrongdoing, there is a desire to almost double down, hence why the Saints fan site talks of Eckert ‘endlessly’ going on about control and a need for clean sheets.

That goes hand in hand with a tactical stubbornness, too, because, by nature of being an ideologue, there is often very little room for manoeuvre or adaptation, whether that be with the system or the style.

As a result, when things are clicking and everything is going according to plan, the plan is so refined and believed in then things can go extremely well – and the highs of his Saints tenure, most notably annihilations of Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers, are very high.

However, the lows can often not only be low but become repetitive and predictable, leading to fan discontent, but pragmatic choices, often sneered at by many so-called ‘progressive’ pundits or analysts may not bed into a manager until they have developed a certain level of experience.

Experience is something Eckert clearly doesn’t have but that is something Southampton knew about and gambled on him to learn on the job with his coaching ability clearly seen as a worthwhile investment into fine tuning the other aspects of the 33-year-old as a coach.

It may not have been the correct initial appointment for Southampton’s immediate aspirations of consistency and a top two challenge but, having taken the plunge, it would surely now be odd to then abandon the plan this summer, especially with those highs and suggestions of what it could be – and so, surely, Eckert will remain down on the south coast next season.