Tonda Eckert has won more in eight games for Southampton than the club has achieved in 51 games since the start of last season.
The 32-year-old joined the club in July as manager of the Under-21 team, before taking up his full-time job in November following the sacking of manager Will Still.
Saints got off to a disastrous start, languishing just above the relegation zone with just two wins from 13 games.
Saturday, December 20th 11am
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Since then, the turnaround has been significant. 6 wins, 22 points. They have moved up from 21st to 10th in the standings and are four points away from the play-offs. He was initially appointed to the role on an interim basis, but was appointed permanently after winning four of his first five games.
Even in last week’s game against Norwich, their second defeat under Eckert, they missed a penalty from Adam Armstrong and conceded a highly controversial winner.
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Southampton will be furious after the ball appeared to touch Jovon Makama’s hand in Norwich’s winning goal
What did Eckert change?
In search of results, coach Still switched to a back three in the latter half of his reign, but to no avail. Eckert kept doing it, and he made it work.
Maybe he was a little lucky in the first few games. Playing against a very poor QPR side and then hosting Sheffield Wednesday at home helped to instill confidence in his creative players and forwards.
Eckert is having them play in a more expansive manner, which seems to be paying dividends. They are conceding more chances and have less control than they did under Still, but the manager trusts Southampton’s talented attacking players to get over the line.
However, he also reintroduced Finn Azaz into his preferred central attacking midfield role, and his performance was key.
The former Middlesbrough man, who was signed by Still at the start of the season, had scored just one goal and one assist before Eckert’s arrival. Since then, he has six goals and three assists.
His creativity is also the key to getting the most out of Adam Armstrong. He may have missed the decisive penalty against Norwich, but up until then he had scored seven goals and provided three assists in Eckert’s first seven games.
He went from scoring well below his expected goals (xG) to becoming the Championship’s top scorer. He once again looks like the clinical forward we saw in his previous second-tier spell.
“The team hasn’t looked back at all.”
Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuf said the turnaround in Southampton’s attack was remarkable.
“Azaz is a proven player at this level,” he said. “He signed for a lot of money and he’s going strong now. Adam Armstrong has a proven pedigree at this level. Leo Cienza has been great.
Finn Azaz becomes Southampton international
“Looking at them now, I think there was a little more offensive intent in terms of how fast they moved the ball. They were in decent positions under Coach Still, but they just didn’t take those chances.”
“As forward players, and of course those of us who played in the forward areas, once you get your first chance there’s a sense of frustration and disappointment that you didn’t take it, but this guy (Adam Armstrong) is unbelievable.
“Several types of finishes. He has everything in his arsenal. Since the first win under Eckert, the team hasn’t looked back much.”
“You may still be watching in disbelief.”
Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gollum:
There’s no doubting the impact Tonda Eckert has had on this team since taking over, and the tweaks he’s made have paid big dividends.
But beyond all metrics, it’s confidence that has proven invaluable in the Saints’ turnaround. Creating chances was never a problem during Still’s tenure, but there was one mistake after another.
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Relive Casper Jander’s incredible mistake against Swansea at Southampton under Will Still
Some of the missed chances are almost comical at times, with Kasper Jandel’s goal against Swansea in particular coming to mind.
Will Still must have watched in disbelief as this new version of his old team squandered opportunity after opportunity.
The biggest test awaits
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Simeon Gollum and David Prutton look forward to the Southampton vs. Coventry match on the Sky Sports Essential EFL Podcast.
Saturday’s game could be Eckert’s biggest challenge yet, as Southampton hosts league leaders Coventry City’s game against St Mary’s, which will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
With 17 points separating them, it may be too late for Saints to catch up with the Sky Blues, but it is an opportunity for Saints to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Norwich and set the stage for them to be right in this promotion race.
“This is a game-cracker,” David Prutton said on the Sky Sports Essential EFL Podcast. “If you look at the second half of Southampton and Norwich, you might say we weren’t quite there creatively, but there were signs of that against West Brom and we could have let that slip away in the second half.
“That will be taken as a warning sign and we will have a response this weekend.”
Eckert himself believes this is a perfect opportunity for his side to respond.
“If you have big ambitions for the season you’ll be disappointed on Saturday, but it’s important to keep a clear head,” the Southampton manager told the BBC. “We will be fully prepared to achieve big on Saturday.
“There are moments when we need to improve. It takes a little bit of time. We know that in football you don’t always have time and you want to do things quickly, but overall I think we are heading in a good direction.”
“I congratulate Coventry on what they have achieved so far, but they will be ready on Saturday.
“It’s the perfect match for us. We love playing St. Mary’s. We’ve had a lot of success in (recent) home games. We’re full of energy and we’re going to be all in.”
