Tonda Eckert has very rarely been on the receiving end of a thumping in charge of Southampton.
The last time he was in charge of the Saints, and they conceded four during a defeat, was all the way back in January, as Middlesbrough - long before becoming their Spygate foes - hammered the South Coast side at the Riverside Stadium 4-0.
On that day, the likes of Nathan Wood and Leo Scienza started, and coincidentally, they were both in the 33-year-old's starting XI on Tuesday night, too, as a young West Ham United team shocked Eckert's men 4-1 in the EFL Cup.
Everyone associated with Southampton will just be praying that this was a fluke of a result, as the other EFL Cup fixtures that took place did see Birmingham City lose 6-1 on their own soil to Brentford, among other wild final scores.
The Saints will be aiming to immediately bounce back when Championship action resumes, but they couldn't have been handed a harder next game, arguably, after such a demoralising result against the Hammers.
Southampton's next tricky Championship game
Millwall travel to St. Mary's up next, as the Championship's final fixtures for August hit the calendar.
This will be a very tough game for Eckert's men, after being dealt such a blow to their ego with the West Ham defeat, with the Lions currently sat top of the entire second tier, flexing two wins from two.
Millwall haven't leaked one single goal either, as they were confident, clinical and composed in 2-0 and 3-0 wins collected against Bristol City and Norwich City.
Millwall's electric start to the season vs Southampton's:
Stat | Millwall | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
Position | 1st | 24th (due to points deduction) |
Wins | 2 | 1 |
Draws | 0 | 0 |
Losses | 0 | 1 |
Goals scored | 5 | 4 |
Goals conceded | 0 | 3 |
With Josh Coburn and Tairyk Arconte able to boast four goals between themselves, as well, the Saints could have to stomach another sobering defeat if they're not completely switched on from minute one against Alex Neil's pacesetters.
Of course, Eckert does have Cyle Larin he can throw back into the action, who has three goals next to his name already in all competitions, but it will take a big team effort to clinch a win against such a well-drilled, high-flying opponent.
But, Eckert has been here before and managed to recover, as evidenced in him guiding the Saints to the playoffs, in the months that followed that 4-0 drubbing in Teesside.
Eckert has been here before
Indeed, after that sobering defeat on their travels to the Riverside, everything seemingly clicked for Eckert and Co.
The Berlin-born manager would lose to Hull City in the middle of January, but past that, he would only taste the sting of a loss once more across the next 22 matches, as he transformed Southampton into remarkable promotion contenders, when they once looked lost under the dire reign of Will Still.
#SaintsFC head into the International break on a 14 match unbeaten run and just in the play-off places. 😮💨
— Just Saints (@JustSaints_) March 24, 2026
They were 21st in the table when Tonda Eckert took over in November, how high do you think they can finish? 💭 pic.twitter.com/nFbMvstDK1
With the German noting that he wants to turn St. Mary's into a "fortress" this season to soar up the division, it would be quite the statement if they were to win against the early league leaders on Saturday.
Easier said than done, of course, as the Lions haven't lost on their travels to the South Coast since 2011, when a solitary Guly Do Prado strike settled the game.
Yet, Southampton used to view Stoke as a bit of a bogey team, before convincingly beating them 3-1 last weekend.
It will be intriguing to see how Eckert and Co. respond to their EFL Cup setback, with the Saints hopefully coming out of the traps as a lively beast against the East London titans, rather than remaining as a wounded animal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google