What Dragan Solak thinks Southampton’s ‘spy’ should’ve really done to Tonda Eckert | OneFootball

Southampton owner Dragan Solak has stated the 'spy' at the club should've been stronger with his push back if he didn't want to watch opponents.

Southampton are gearing up for the 2026/27 Championship season, with Tonda Eckert set to stay on as manager for the time being.

It has been a hectic few weeks for Saints, who were expelled from the play-offs after Middlesbrough caught an employee from the south coast side spying on their training in the build-up to the semi-final.

After that, it emerged Southampton had also sent figures to watch Oxford and Ipswich train ahead of their games earlier in the season, and an independent disciplinary commission decided that kicking the club out of the play-offs, along with a four-point deduction to be applied next season, was a suitable punishment.

Since then, Southampton have been conducting an internal review over the incident, and it was announced today that Eckert would be staying on.

That could, of course, be subject to change pending the result of FA charges being brought against the 33-year-old, which could potentially incur a lengthy ban and result in his departure from Southampton after all.

Dragan Solak discusses Southampton’s ‘spygate’ issue

Owner Dragan Solak addressed supporters directly for the first time since the fallout, where he gave his backing to the German boss.

As well as that, Solak also went into detail on some of the specific accusations, and he discussed the idea that the junior analyst, who had been sent to watch the opposition, felt under pressure to do so from those above him.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v Everton - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - February 19, 2022 Southampton owner Dragan Solak in the stands REUTERS/Peter Nicholls EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account represent

However, speaking to the BBC, Solak insists that if that was the case, he should’ve gone directly to people at the top of the club, although he did state that the person involved will be offered the chance to remain at Southampton.

“I believe that our junior intern felt personally it's wrong, and he didn't feel right for doing this, and I think he should have expressed that stronger. I'm pretty sure that if [he had] come to us, the top management, actually it would be the seniors who would be punished, not him.

“I have a lot of pity. I'm sorry for what he had to go through. And we obviously would like him to stay in the club and we offered him a prolonged job with the club.”

Southampton must start building towards the 2026/27 season

Obviously, the decision to keep Eckert is going to divide opinion, and some will take issue with Solak’s comments here, as it can be interpreted that he is blaming the junior analyst.

In that scenario, many would have sympathy with the junior analyst, as he would have felt pressure to do what the manager wanted, even if he knew that it was against the EFL rules.

It’s easy to say that he should’ve expressed that view in a stronger way, but the junior analyst may have felt that could cause him to lose his job, as he would have been going directly against Eckert’s orders, which wouldn’t go down well.

So, Solak may face some criticism for that view, but, in the bigger picture, it’s a positive that Southampton have finally made a call on the managerial situation, and they can now try to move forward for the time being.

They are preparing for a massive summer transfer window, and they can now get to work on reshaping the squad, as failure to go up means some exits are inevitable.

Then, it’s about strengthening the squad, so it will be intriguing to see what the Southampton XI looks like for their Championship opener in August - and whether that's under Eckert.