Southampton weigh up former Middlesbrough boss ahead of Portsmouth derby amid FA spygate hearing
Southampton are awaiting the verdict of an FA hearing over Tonda Eckert’s role in the Spygate scandal.
Southampton are reportedly putting together a managerial contingency plan amid the Football Association’s hearing over Tonda Eckert’s role in the spygate saga.
The German is at the centre of the scandal, which rocked the Championship after the Blues’ fierce rivals admitted to spying on Middlesbrough, Oxford United and Ipswich Town last season.
The St Mary’s Stadium outfit were expelled from the play-offs and docked four points for the new campaign by the EFL, while the FA charged the head coach on three counts of bringing the game into disrepute.
Southampton weigh up former Middlesbrough boss
After a hearing on Thursday, Southampton and Eckert are awaiting the final verdict, which is expected to come before the end of the international break and ahead of the latest south-coast derby with Pompey on October 11.
Should the 33-year-old face a lengthy ban, a contingency plan is already being drawn up, according to a fresh report by The Telegraph.
John Percy and Mike McGrath have revealed former Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards is being earmarked as a potential replacement for the St Mary’s hot-seat.
The article suggests Southampton have been long-term admirers of the 43-year-old and is said to have been discussed internally as a possible interim appointment.
The ex-Luton Town boss has been without a job since June when he was sacked by Wolves following their Premier League relegation and was replaced by Cesar Peixoto at Molineux.
The Telegraph have claimed there is also pressure on the FA to deliver a swift verdict on the outcome of any potential punishment for Eckert, who was initially charged in July.
Tonda Eckert pleads for forgiveness as FA verdict awaits
The EFL, of course, dealt Southampton significant sanctions in May with their expulsion from the play-offs as well as being docked four points for the new season.
He said: ‘We've talked a lot over the summer of how we want to go through that process of addressing everything, giving everyone the chance to put questions out that are still there, to put out what they feel and have gone through, and then also close the door and move on.
‘Because the reality is it's a new season. We have big ambitions as a football club, and in order to reach them, we need to move on.
‘I've had the chance to sit down and just talk the FA through everything that happened. And now it's up to them to make a decision. I don't really have any emotions towards that.
‘It's been a big, big punishment. Absolutely unheard of in the history of sports.
‘And it's tough for me to say that because it concerns me. I'm judging on myself, not an outside situation. But I've asked for forgiveness for what I've done. I've apologised publicly.
‘I think the punishment has been very hard on the club for the last season. And to go into a new season on minus four. And the rest is not for me to decide.’
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