How Will Still actually feels about what Tonda Eckert has done at Southampton FC | OneFootball

Former Southampton manager Will Still has delivered his verdict on how the Saints have fared under his replacement Tonda Eckert.

It is set to be an exciting end to the season for Southampton in the Championship under the guidance of Tonda Eckert.

While Eckert will be hoping to lead the club back to the Premier League, Southampton were initially expected to challenge for promotion this season under Will Still, who arrived at St Mary's in May after impressive spells in France with Reims and Lens.

After his work in Ligue 1, Still was regarded as one of the most talented up-and-coming managers in Europe, and with one of the strongest squads in the Championship at his disposal, the Saints began the season as one of the promotion favourites.

However, Still struggled to make an impact on the South Coast, and after winning just four of his 16 games in charge, drawing six and losing six, he was sacked in early November with the club sitting just outside the relegation zone.

After replacing Still on an interim basis, Eckert won four of his five games as caretaker to earn himself the permanent job, and Southampton have continued to climb the table under the German in recent months.

Eckert has not only transformed the Saints into serious promotion contenders, but he also led them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and while they were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday, they did secure memorable victories over top flight duo Fulham and Arsenal in the previous rounds.

Will Still delivers verdict on Tonda Eckert's work at Southampton

Almost six months on from his exit, Still reflected on his spell at Southampton on The Overlap Breakdown this week, and the 33-year-old admitted that he felt he needed time to turn the club's fortunes around, claiming that an oversized squad was one of the many challenges he inherited.

However, while it did not work out for him at St Mary's, Still insisted that he holds no grudges towards his former club, revealing that he is pleased to see the Saints pushing for promotion under his successor Eckert.

"I'm delighted that they are where they are because the club deserves to go back up and the supporters deserve to go back up," Still said.

"I'll always have this part of regret that I didn't get it right and ran out of time.

"I can think of a load of reasons why it didn't work out," Still explained.

"Our playing squad was massive, and we had to skim through that.

"They've finally got to a place where they've got the squad that they needed and wanted.

"There was stuff that had gone on in the Premier League, stuff that had gone on in the Championship the year before that, and everyone was not quite in sync.

"There were so many different parts of the club that weren't quite in sync yet.

"That was the conversation we'd had with Johannes (Spors) because Johannes had just come in with me, and we said this is going to take a bit of time for us to get this right.

"Ultimately, they have got it right, they've had the results they wanted, and that's life, football moves on."

Tonda Eckert, Southampton turnaround may be frustrating for Will Still

Still will not want to appear bitter towards his former club, but he will no doubt be scratching his head at how much Southampton have improved under Eckert since his departure.

While some of the Saints' performances during Still's tenure arguably deserved more, it was difficult to see them mounting a promotion push under him, but they have been one of the form teams in the Championship since Eckert took charge in November.

Still has been linked with the likes of Norwich City, Strasbourg and Nantes since leaving St Mary's, so his reputation has clearly not suffered too much damage after his failed Southampton spell, but the almost instant turnaround under Eckert does not reflect too well on him.