How James Bree feels about Dragan Solak’s Southampton, Spygate stance | OneFootball

James Bree has revealed his stance on Dragan Solak's spygate reaction after penning a new deal at Southampton.

Southampton defender James Bree has signed a new contract with the club, keeping him at St Mary's until at least the summer of 2029.

The 2025/26 season has been a hugely positive one for Bree, who found form on loan at Charlton Athletic in the first half of the campaign, before returning to the Saints in January.

The 28-year-old went on to play a crucial part in Southampton's revival under Tonda Eckert, starting 19 times as the Hampshire side went on a 21-game unbeaten run, securing themselves a play-off place.

Of course, we all know the controversy that took place with the now infamous spygate saga, which would see Saints booted out of the play-offs despite reaching the final.

Even though some players were said to be outraged at the club's antics, Bree seemingly wasn't one of these, as he's now penned a new long-term deal to remain on the south coast for the foreseeable future.

James Bree reveals his feelings about Dragan Solak's post-spygate war-cry to Southampton players

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The fallout from the spygate saga was expected to be astronomical, with reports that Eckert's future was up in the air, and the players could take legal action against their own employer for a loss of earnings.

However, things seem to have calmed down in the wake of the controversy, with Eckert keeping his job at St Mary's, and loanees such as Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin returning to the club on a permanent basis.

Bree's contract extension now comes as the next piece of good news for Saints fans, and he revealed the message from owner Dragan Solak after the saga in an interview with the Daily Echo.

“We were all so disappointed with how it ended. I’ve seen the lads speak about it. We have unfinished business," he said.

"We feel like we deserve to be in the Premier League by now.

"When the boys were all together, it was still so fresh. There was a lot of anger and emotion flying about.

“It’s hard to put it into perspective, and we are still disappointed that we didn’t get the chance to go to Wembley and play there. It was tough.

"I don’t know if Daniel [Peretz] touched on it, but we had a meeting with Dragan on the Thursday, and he put it into his words.

“He said, 'The only thing you can do next year is go again, fight, and if you get promoted, you turn it all around'.

"After going away and thinking about it, it’s true. That is the only way you can make it right. We feel like it’s where we need to be.

"It will be easier said than done; it’s going to be a long season. But all of the boys will have that fight and will be raring to go when we get back."

The Southampton owner's rally cry seemed to work with the likes of Bree, Peretz and Larin all remaining at the club, and the motivation to right the wrongs of last season is firmly in place ahead of the new campaign.

Bree hails Tonda Eckert for Southampton revival

Despite Eckert remaining under investigation by the FA for admitting multiple instances of spying on Championship opponents, the German remains a hugely popular figure among his players.

After putting pen to paper on a new deal at Southampton, Bree sung Eckert's praises to the Daily Echo and hailed the work he'd done to turn the club's fortunes around after a poor start to the season under Will Still.

“I came back in at the end of January and was in the team ever since.

"Tonda was so good with me, giving me so much information and letting me play my football. He coached me really well and had that belief in me from the start.

"It’s such a strange situation because I was unbeaten in the league the whole time I was back. It’s a strange feeling that we went on that run and nothing has come from it.

"We know that we’ve got a really good team. When we play our football, we know that we are a really strong team in this division.

"We will go into the season full of motivation to do it all again.”