Southampton's Revival Under Tonda Eckert: From Struggles to Success
Tonda Eckert walks into St Mary’s these days and feels something he insists was missing not so long ago. Noise. Belief. A bond that had been frayed almost to breaking point.
The numbers back him up. Since the 33-year-old took charge in November 2025, Southampton have collected 47 points at home – the best record in the Championship over that spell. They have opened the new campaign with three straight wins at St Mary’s, turning a ground that had grown anxious and unforgiving into one of the division’s most hostile venues for visiting sides.
It has not happened by accident.
“You know the condition the club was in when I came in and you know the condition our supporters were in the moment I came in,” Eckert told BBC Radio Solent, a reminder of the mess he inherited when he stepped up from the U21s to replace the sacked Will Still with Saints languishing in 21st.
The mood around the club back then mirrored the league position: flat, suspicious, bruised by underachievement and upheaval. The stands reflected that fracture.
“It’s not easy to play home games if you don’t have that connection,” he said. “And rightly so, there was not that connection at that very moment for a variety of things going on.
“Then you need to earn that right to connect again to the supporters, to the city, because it means so much more, the football, to the city of Southampton.”
That word – earn – underpins his entire tenure.
From Play-Off Heartbreak to Spygate Fallout
Eckert’s impact was immediate enough to drag Southampton away from danger and into the Championship play-offs last season. On the pitch, the turnaround looked like the start of a long-term project.
Then came Spygate.
The club’s expulsion from the play-offs detonated months of hard work and reignited anger in the stands. A fanbase that had just begun to trust again felt betrayed by events off the field. For many clubs, that kind of scandal leaves scars that show up in empty seats and a lingering bitterness.
Southampton’s support, though, has kept coming. Attendances have held around the 30,000 mark heading into the new season, keeping Saints among the top 20 crowds in the country. The anger has not entirely disappeared, but it has not turned into apathy either. That matters to Eckert.
“It’s not one thing that you change,” he said. “There are so many small steps that you need to take to earn the trust and build on a connection and build a relationship back up.
“St Mary’s just feels completely different than it did a year ago and that is just many, many things coming together.”
The pressure finally told over time: a more aggressive, front-foot style at home, a team that looks like it understands the badge it wears, and a coach who keeps insisting that the stadium is not just a backdrop, but a weapon.
Home as the Foundation
Eckert is clear about where any successful campaign must be built.
“However, I do believe that to ‘win’ a season, you must play a successful season at home,” he said.
It is an old truth in English football, but he has turned it into a central plank of his work. Make St Mary’s a place teams dread. Make it loud. Make it unforgiving. Make it a stage where Southampton dictate the tempo, not react to it.
The early evidence this season suggests the message has landed. Three home games, three wins, and a side that looks increasingly comfortable carrying the expectations of a big crowd. The connection he keeps referencing is no longer just a slogan; it is visible in the way players respond to tackles, in the energy of late surges, in the refusal to let games drift.
Injury Setback for Jander
Not everything is perfectly aligned. As Southampton prepare for Saturday’s clash with Bristol City, Eckert will again be without midfielder Caspar Jander.
The 23-year-old has yet to feature this season after suffering a quad injury early in the first pre-season outing against National League side Eastleigh. The hope had been for a quicker return, but the calendar has beaten him to it.
Eckert has confirmed the Bristol City fixture comes “too early” for Jander, though there is finally a hint of a timeline.
“We’re going to push, so hopefully it’s going to be some minutes against Wrexham (on 19 September),” he said. “We had to delay a little bit, but I think he’s on a good way now.”
Jander’s eventual return will add another option to a midfield already tasked with sustaining this formidable home form. For now, the focus stays on the players available and on a stadium that has rediscovered its edge.
A year ago, St Mary’s felt heavy. Today, it feels alive. If Eckert is right, and seasons are truly won at home, Southampton’s revival may only just be getting started.
