Hull City have won promotion to the Premier League, having reigned supreme against Middlesbrough in a nerve-wracking Championship playoff final.
In a scandal-filled playoffs dominated by Spygate, the underdogs managed to get the better of Kim Hellberg's Boro at Wembley, as Oli McBurnie let his football do the talking with a bundled home winner at the death.
If the powers that be at the EFL hadn't expelled Southampton for their espionage dark arts, it could well have been Tonda Eckert's side on the receiving end of a beating at Wembley by the Tigers, who thoroughly deserve promotion, after a season of many trials and tribulations at the MKM Stadium.
Hull deserved winners with the backdrop of Spygate
Ultimately, while some sections of the Southampton fanbase might think the punishment handed out to their beloved club was severe, it was the right outcome, as Eckert and Co. tried to deceive their way to promotion.
Several EFL neutrals would have been annoyed that Boro took their place, though, having lost the playoff semi-finals, with Hull having to put in a lot more hard graft to get to the final.
Indeed, the Tigers dug deep and managed to overcome the stern test of Millwall over two legs to play under the famous Wembley arches.
Moreover, with Boro's late inclusion in the final, Sergej Jakirović's men had their preparations disrupted, not knowing who they would face for a spot among the Premier League's elite, until a couple of days before the blockbuster final.
Yet again, they just rolled their sleeves up and got the job done, no matter what was happening behind the scenes, with Hull battling hard throughout in the humid capital to beat the visitors from Teesside 1-0 to reach the promised land of the top-flight.
With the whole narrative of Spygate as a backdrop, Hull were the deserved winners in the end, and the South Coast giants could look to the example of Jakirović and Co. for some inspiration next season, as they try to find some light at the end of the tunnel.
Southampton must take inspiration from Hull
Hull weren't dealt the best hand going into the 2025/2026 season.
Indeed, the Yorkshire outfit were hit by a transfer embargo, before the campaign officially got underway, which meant they couldn't sign a single player for a fee across their next three transfer windows.
McBurnie ended up being an inspired free transfer, as the Tigers had to settle for looting through the bargain bin for hidden gems.
Southampton could have to be equally resourceful as they look for new talent to bolster their potentially depleted squad, with Hull going on to become surprise promotion contenders through a shared grit and determination to achieve beyond what was expected of them.
Before a ball was kicked, Hull were anticipated to be relegation fodder, but they upset all those predictions when Wembley was a sea of black and amber on Saturday afternoon.
Southampton could well be next season's pick for relegation, arguably, as they come into the brand-new campaign on a four-point deduction.
Yet, if they look to Hull for inspiration, they will know that any pre-season predictions can go out the window very quickly.
They will need to appoint a manager like Jakirović, too, who can be a unifying presence during tricky times, with Eckert surely heading for the exit door due to his heavy involvement in the Spygate scandal.
At the moment, nobody has a clue as to how Southampton will adapt to their new challenges.
But, as is always the case with the unpredictable nature of the Championship, nobody can be truly written off, as Hull found out by securing their first promotion to the Premier League in a decade.
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