--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-10-24T01:03:31.913Z last_updated: 2026-10-23T15:21:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/southampton/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHllY2hvLmNvLnVrL3Nwb3J0LzI2NjY0NDkxLnNwb3J0aW5nLWRpcmVjdG9yLXNwb3JzLWNvbmZpZGVudC1lY2tlcnQtd2lsbC1leHRlbmQtc291dGhhbXB0b24tc3RheS8_cmVmPXJzcw --- # Spors interview: Eckert - **Source:** - **Published:** 23 Oct - **Club:** Southampton - **Original URL:** https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/26664491.sporting-director-spors-confident-eckert-will-extend-southampton-stay/?ref=rss Eckert, who boasts a win percentage of more than 60 per cent since he took over as interim manager in November 2025, is on a short-term deal. The 33 year old's current terms are set to expire in June, meaning Saints have little security over his future should another club come knocking. Eckert had been in an FA investigation into his role in the Spygate scandal until October, when he was cleared to manage with no immediate ban. That thrust Eckert's contract back into the spotlight, and while Spors says there is no rush, he revealed work is under way on extending his tenure. Spors told the Daily Echo: "It is in discussion, yes. Our support for Tonda could not have been more than what we've done in the summer. (Image: Southampton FC) "It's the same other way around. Our relationship within the club is so strong. Tonda and I speak every day, and I've known his agents for a long time. "I'm very positive about that. We are looking into the future with the same eyes, and that makes me feel very positive that there will be a good solution. "But because of that, we are not in a rush. We take this step by step. We started, and we will continue to talk about this in a very positive way. "There's also a lot of focus on games. We just play games all the time, so it's nothing that will happen tomorrow, but it will happen at the right time." Eckert faced a ban from all football activity of up to nine months, but the FA Regulatory Commission found significant mitigation in his case. The verdict was a relief for Saints, who believed they had found their man to lead the club for the coming years after a string of poor appointments. "Spygate was a very dominant topic for nearly five months. We went into it with a very negative outcome, and left with a very positive one," said Spors. "We were definitely more relieved than normal in other processes. The interesting thing was that it's a situation that nobody has ever done before. "I had to make sure that I fully support and trust Tonda, and make sure that we are aligned with that, and that ultimately Tonda feels that, and he did. "Then we built a squad around that, and built a squad around that not knowing if this is really the reality. Entering into September, it was unclear. "Will we find out in October, or is it September, November, whatever? That's why it's so much more than basically simply a head coach decision. "It's a whole club's decision where we went all in to one situation, and it feels very good that I see him coaching, standing on the touchline now." Eckert was at the centre of the four-month-long investigation, with Spors not named in either the EFL's initial hearing nor in the FA proceedings. But in his role, Spors sits at the top of the chain at Staplewood and is on record claiming to be responsible for "every football-related decision". Eckert claims he did not know rules against spying on opponents existed - which the FA believe to be true - meaning he was not properly briefed. "Clearly something was lacking around the rules and the regulations, and making sure that everybody knows about it," admitted Spors. (Image: Stuart Martin) "Tonda has taken a lot of actions in the summer that he has said, so I don't need to repeat, but, yes, that is something I had a lot of attention on. "Of course, you come to a point where you think, 'Maybe this could have been done a bit differently, and you just learn from the process'. "For me personally, my clear focus was always two-sided. One is that I had to support Tonda. It was just so important for me to support him personally. "We have known each other so long, so with my knowledge and with my experience, just to be close with him, and make sure there is enough support. "And then the second topic, and I still remember right from the beginning, end of May, was the overall question, and that was, 'How can we go again?' "How can we get promoted next year?' That then entered into a lot of actions like signing players early, like all the scouting, all the recruitment." With Saints owner Dragan Solak choosing to forgive everyone involved, action has been taken to ensure such a big failing could not happen again. "From my side, I made sure that people are reminded to have that knowledge and awareness of the rules and to invest time into it," Spors added. "And then I think we already had this last year, but to make sure that we have a very good and even better culture of communication and transparency." For Spors, full focus is on moving forward. It already was during the summer transfer window, in which Saints managed to sign eight players for Eckert. They kept Daniel Peretz (£7million), Cyle Larin (£3m), and George Long (free), before spending £9m on Championship star Lewis Dobbin from Aston Villa. Divin Mubama (loan), Keven Schlotterbeck (£3m), James Ward-Prowse (nominal fee) and Zach Abbott later followed them through the door. It was funded by the sales of Shea Charles (£26m+£4m), and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£25+£5m), whose exits were seen as ultimately inevitable. Spors explained: "That was first a question that we discussed internally and then a clear decision right after. The first few days were so important. (Image: Lee Keuneke/PA) "I immediately started to speak to the players we wanted to keep because of contract and loan situations, and we announced them pretty quickly. "It was a sign to the inside and to the outside that we go again. Now we have a team where we could keep things together, and this was a clear strategy. "If you look into other teams that have been successful, promoted teams, I think that very often has been a key to long-term performance in this season. "Of course, there was a question mark. Can we go again with this group, in this environment? We see now we can. I think we are stronger than before. "For me, it was quite obvious that Shea and Taylor are very likely the two players to leave. It was not always clear if it was both of them, but then it was. "I'm very happy because it is part of the model of this club. It's not a secret. We develop players, and then we also allow players to move on. "We only allow that when the circumstances and, in these cases, the price are right. I think the money we have received for them was very good deals." Last season, the signings of Leo Scienza, Caspar Jander - which could be his magnum opus at St Mary's - and, later, Peretz, were probably his best work. This campaign, it looks as though Augsburg captain Schlotterbeck, who has slotted into the centre of defence alongside the English lads, stands out. "We always sign players as precise as possible for the needs that we have in the position, and, of course, every player also has a weakness," he said. "But there is a strength that fits our game model, and what we need. We wanted in that position a left foot, and a strong defender, mentality and character. "He brings all that, so I'm very happy. After Taylor left, a second aspect is that he's a left-sider and all the other centre-backs are right-footed. "It also lifts the right-footed player on the right side." However, Saints would have liked to sign another defender to play alongside the 29 year old German, who was not intended to replace Harwood-Bellis. But they failed in bids just shy of £10m to capture Elche's David Affengruber, who instead went to Fulham, and Viking Stavanger prodigy Henrik Falchener. "If we had sold Taylor very early, things would be different. At the end of the window, you have to be a bit more reactive to the market." Spors said. "That's why, if players like you mentioned, if all of a sudden they are maybe available, then you have to check if it's possible or not and open talks. "You see what's doable, what's not doable and have to make a decision. We could have signed other players, but we decided on Keven and Zach. "They have different roles in the squad, but we needed them." The window also left Saints much lighter in attack, with Ross Stewart's permanent exit and Cameron Archer's loan to Auxerre diminishing the ranks. Dobbin can play across the front, but is comparatively expensive given he has only started two games, while loan striker Mubama has not started one. "With Lewis, we felt that he was, in our view at least, the best under-23 player in the championship last year," Spors explained. "Then it's always a question, do you try to bring more specialists or a player who is very versatile? He is very versatile, which the coach usually loves. "The second thing is, as much as I have had a lot of success in my career with developing young players from abroad, it is also important to keep a balance. "We are an English football club; we want to have a group of English players as well, as they have knowledge of the league and of the environment." Spors continued: "And Divin has two goal contributions in 130 minutes. I didn't check this, but it's probably top of the league in the per minutes. "So that's not the problem. The problem is the 130 minutes for him. But we know that he's there when we need him. He's a special profile. "He brings the physicality with a fantastic mentality. He's great in training. Of course, nobody is against Cyle having a fast start as he has had. "That obviously reduces the shared minutes model that we had a little bit at the end of last season. That's not fully in place yet, but it will come. "It's part of my job to give Tonda some very difficult decisions, because that means the squad is very good. I believe the squad is very balanced." Many supporters have suggested that Saints need to bring in another striker in January, but Spors gave a "sporting director's answer" when quizzed. "I'm very happy with what we have," he insisted. "With Cyle and with Divin and with Lewis, and with Prince, who scores every game in the under-21s. "You have to ask the question, but you also understand my answer. Of course I'm looking into the market of strikers. Of course, that's the job "We will see what is there. We will see how it develops. How are we scoring? How do we perform? It's a one-striker strategy also at the moment. "Does that ever change? Is Tonda developing this over the season? Things can happen, right? It's not that I think it will, but that's the right of a manager. "Things can change. We have to be prepared for everything. But if you ask me if I'm comfortable with what we have, I'm absolutely there." Spors is understandably tight-lipped on the January transfer window, but does not believe the squad requires major surgery as it did earlier this year. "I consider January always very important, but it will probably be very different than last time because the summer was also very different," he said. "The summer before, I think we did 36 deals in and out. As a result, obviously not every position could be already where I wanted it to be. "I like the January window because it gives different possibilities. The market is different, and it changes so you cannot plan into the 31st of January. "I'm in London today because we have a full two days of scouting and recruitment meetings with all the analysts and scouting people. "We will prepare scenarios, prepare what happens if there is an injury, if a player doesn't perform, and if a market opportunity comes up for us. "We are quite confident that we know what is possible and not possible by January, but it's not everything a thousand per cent clear yet. "What I can say is I have been working with Dragan Solak now for more than 18 months, and he has always backed us up. He will always back us up. "It's not like there is an amount of money in my office and I can just take it out whenever I need it, but it's a generally great relationship with him."