Tonda Eckert’s hidden Southampton FC weapon? Ipswich Town must hate this | OneFootball

Southampton manager Tonda Eckert may have a secret weapon up his sleeve if Cameron Archer returns to form.

Southampton have put themselves in an excellent position to steal second spot in the Championship and gain automatic promotion back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking – again.

The Saints endured a miserable start to this season and that led to the departure of former Stade de Reims boss Will Still, with Tonda Eckert brought in to replace him on an interim basis.

Eckert had a great start before a bumpy middle section of the campaign saw Southampton struggling to break back into the top six and the play-off places.

However, their 3-0 hammering of Blackburn Rovers at St Mary’s this midweek has shot them into a position whereby a top two spot is well on the cards, let alone securing the play-offs.

Their victory over the steady Lancastrians saw them extend their current winning streak to seven matches across all competitions and they are now unbeaten in their last 18 games, including a cup run that has seen them defeat both Fulham and Arsenal on their way to setting up a semi-final with Manchester City at Wembley Stadium next weekend.

The comfortable win over Rovers saw Cameron Archer get himself back on the scoresheet and Ipswich will be concerned that the striker returning to form could propel Saints above them and into the top two.

Cameron Archer has shown his quality in the Championship

Having come through the academy at Aston Villa but struggled to make an impact in the first-team at Villa Park, Archer has been prolific in the EFL.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a fruitful loan stint at Deepdale with Preston North End, hitting seven goals in 20 appearances, before firing Middlesbrough into the play-offs as part of an electric attack alongside Aaron Ramsey and Chuba Akpom, scoring 11 in 20 appearances then.

A tough move to an out-of-their-depth Sheffield United in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign was followed by his move to Southampton as they prepared for the top-flight.

He again failed to make much of an impact in the top-flight and has again struggled for much form in the Championship, either, and yet his threat is known.

Following the departure of Adam Armstrong to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the winter transfer window, Southampton have spread the goals around with brilliant contributions from attacking midfielders such as Leo Scienza and Finn Azaz, as well as veteran attacker Cyle Larin.

Their top scorer remains Armstrong, on 11, though, and, despite the contributions of others and the generally free scoring nature of Southampton; there is still room for further efficiency in the final third – and Archer rediscovering his best in the EFL could provide that.

Cameron Archer remains efficient and could fire Southampton up

Armstrong, as well as Ross Stewart, were often preferred to Archer in the first-half of the season and, after just one goal by November, an injury saw him frustratingly fall out of the squad for a while.

Upon his return, starts have been at a premium and even minutes have been hard to come by but, in what was just his fourth start since October, Archer’s performance against Blackburn will be extremely encouraging for supporters and for Eckert.

Playing wider, Archer provided an assist as well as scoring to take his direct goal involvement tally up to five this season, albeit with three in his last two starts.

Despite the fact he has struggled for fluency and rhythm due to injuries and falling out of favour, as well as his minor contribution, Archer remains in a decent spot in terms of his efficiency, scoring a goal around every 290 minutes – just over one per three games when, after a nightmare-ish season given his own standards, isn’t horrendous and will be a concern for others if it naturally returns to being improved.

Southampton have been relentless in the last couple of months and they have had no trouble in terms of finding the net – and yet there could be room for more.

Their form is already concerning and ominous for Ipswich, as well as Millwall, but if Archer was to really finish the season with a flourish then it could be what sends Southampton past them and up.