Tonda Eckert: Southampton coach on Spygate experience

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert has said that Spygate is an experience that has changed his life.

The 33-year-old faced the media for the first time since being given a six-week suspended ban and a £28,000 fine by the Football Association (FA) for his role in the scandal.

Saints were expelled from the Championship play-offs in May after admitting spying on training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final.

But Eckert escaped any individual punishment that threatened his job following an FA investigation into his conduct that lasted for more than four months.

The FA had proposed a three-month ban, but the commission gave credit to him for what they called “considerable mitigation in this matter, most particularly around the genuine contrition”.

The governing body is still yet to confirm if they will appeal the independent commission’s ruling.

“It’s tough. It changes your life. If I would say it’s been all easy, it’s not.” Eckert said.

“But you have to find a way. You have to come to a conclusion at one point in the summer of how you want to continue.

“That first decision [public backing from the owner] was not for me but for the club. And at that very moment, then it’s for me to see if I have the energy to be the right one to bring that project forward.

“Once you make that decision, there’s no excuses.”

Eckert was in a relaxed mood during Thursday’s media conference at the club’s Staplewood training ground, sharing a joke with reporters before sitting down to answer questions.