Spygate: Southampton-Middlesbrough decided by panel rather than players?

After Saturday’s goalless debut, Middlesbrough manager Kim Helberg made his feelings clear about the scout. In his words, “there is someone who makes the decision to leave and tries to cheat.”

Helberg spoke emotionally following Tuesday’s loss to St. Mary’s.

The Swede says his first English job in the Premier League has been a dream he’s had for 15 years as a manager, and he’s spent hours watching videos of Southampton this play-off away from his young family.

“If we hadn’t caught the guy who sent me to drive five hours there, you’d be sitting there talking about the tactics of the game and I’d go home and feel like I failed,” he said.

“When that’s taken away from you – we don’t watch every game, instead we send someone over and film the sessions and hope they don’t get caught – it breaks my heart in terms of what I believe.”

Hellberg’s side took the lead on the night and into the game through Reilly McGree’s early goal, but after another strong first half, Ross Stewart equalized in the final.

Although it took them a while to get the better of them, the Saints took control from there as Boro’s football continued to increase.

And such a season of promise was heartbreaking, as they missed out on automatic promotion on the final day with a bad run at the wrong time in the race.

But after such a tragic loss, he was left feeling mixed emotions.

“When I took the Middlesbrough job, I knew there were clubs with bigger resources, parachute teams who spent more money, teams with bigger squads than us,” he said.

“What you have as a coach is the tactical element of the game and where we beat the opposition. You have to find a way to get a good chance.

“That’s what you always try to do because we can be better in that element. And when that’s taken away from you . . .”