‘Surprised’ – Matt Le Tissier makes Tonda Eckert admission on Southampton permanent role
Southampton are unlikely to give interim boss Tonda Eckert a permanent job as manager due to his age and lack of Championship experience.
That is according to Southampton icon Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that the club have likely learnt from the ill-fated appointment of Will Still.
Southampton recently sacked Still after a dismal start to his time at the club following his appointment in the summer.
Interim boss Tonda Eckert has led them to successive wins since his exit, but the St Mary’s outfit still sit 17th in the second-tier and need a real upturn in form to be promotion contenders.
Football Insider revealed in-between those two games that Eckert could be appointed as the new Southampton manager on a full-time basis if he earns decent results, but other names are also known to be in contention.
Eckert has done well as Saints’ interim boss
Eckert could be given the permanent role if he strings a few wins together, which he has started doing well so far with maximum points from his two games in charge.
Southampton beat QPR 2-1 away from home on 5 November and then cruised past struggling Sheffield Wednesday with a 3-1 victory at St Mary’s on Saturday (8 November).
Eckert, who is the club’s under-21’s coach, admitted after that win against the Owls that he had “enjoyed every single day so far” while managing the first-team, and leading the players out was a “special moment” for him.
Gary O’Neil has been linked to the Southampton job, while Russell Martin was mooted with a return but that seems less likely as time goes on.
Le Tissier unsure if Southampton will trust Eckert despite strong interim spell
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England international and Premier League legend Le Tissier insisted that he cannot see Eckert being handed the Saints reins on a full-time basis due to the way Still, who had no Championship experience, failed to impress.
He said: “I’d be surprised (if Eckert was appointed full-time), just because we’ve already hired a manager who didn’t have any real experience in the Championship. (Still was) quite a young coach.
“He had players on the team that were older than him, I think. Certainly, Alex McCarthy was older than Will, which I think is difficult when you’re going to appoint a new manager.