Spygate: Who is Tonda Eckert and can she keep her Southampton job?

When Will Steel was sacked by Southampton on November 2, Saints were in 21st place – three points outside the Championship relegation zone with one win from 13 games.

That’s when the club turned to Eckert, who only arrived at St Mary’s in July 2025 when he replaced Chelsea-bound Callum McFarlane and took charge of the club’s under-21 side.

He looked perfect for that academy job.

Eckert’s career involved mainly youth football with Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. He also helped Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg win the Under-18 UEFA Youth League.

Four months after moving to Saints, he would replace Steele and manage a club in one of Europe’s biggest leagues.

Eckert’s only previous stints in senior football came as number two at Barnsley for 15 months and assistant boss at Italian club Genoa for three years.

But he was well known to Southampton sporting director Johannes Spurs, as they were at Genoa together.

So Eckert, at 32 and with no previous managerial experience, stepped into Steele’s shoes on an interim basis that became permanent a month later.

Eckert won a hat-trick of Championship Manager of the Month awards – for February, March and April – as Saints not only stormed the play-offs but finished within four points of the automatic places.

Southampton (68) have won more points since Eckert took over than any other club, including champions Coventry City (67).

But just 48 hours before Saints played Middlesbrough in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, Southampton’s world came crashing down.

Salt was discovered observing a Middlesbrough training session and the saga known as Spygate began.

If evidence of his involvement is found, Eckert will likely not only lose his job but also be banned The Football Association opened its own investigation.