Southampton star can still have successful summer even with the horror of Spygate lingering

And just like that, Southampton have been expelled from the Championship playoffs, in an unprecedented move by the EFL.

The Saints knew that a punishment was going to come their way for their sly spying tactics, with the South Coast club admitting to three spying charges, but the penalty expected was likely a fine, or a points deduction.

Southampton were hit with those sanctions, but they were also hit with the further disgrace of being chucked out of the playoffs, as Middlesbrough now takes their place in the final.

It has been a whirlwind couple of days to be associated with the Saints, as disgruntled fans will now have to rip up their playoff final tickets, due to the EFL handing out the harshest penalty possible.

Ultimately, though, while many could perceive this as Southampton being made an example of, they have used unfair dark arts and have been chastised accordingly for their failure to abide by the rules.

Ross Stewart will be particularly gutted that he isn't being handed another Wembley runout, as the Scotsman has quite the record when playing at the home of football, and in the playoffs as a whole.

Stewart will be gutted he can't pick up another Wembley goal

The fallout from this expulsion will be huge, with Tonda Eckert's employment status up in the air, alongside several Southampton stars, such as Leo Scienza, surely wanting a route out of the club, after they lost out on the chance to jump up to the Premier League.

Stewart could be another figure who eyes the exit door, as he has proven himself this season as being a reliable goalscorer in pressurised moments.

While his playoff semi final goal against Middlesbrough now counts for zilch, it was a typical Stewart goal, as he headed home confidently to level the tie for the Saints, against Kim Hellberg's side.

He just has a knack of coming up trumps on the big stage for whatever EFL side he calls home, having previously scored in a League One playoff final for Sunderland, when the Black Cats returned to the second tier, at the expense of Wycombe Wanderers.

Stewart's goalscoring record in the playoffs:

Having just come off a standout season where he bagged nine goals from only 12 league starts, the 29-year-old poacher would have fancied his chances of another memorable Wembley strike if the upcoming play-off final had gone ahead as planned.

Alas, he won't be handed another memorable day out under the Wembley arches, but he does have something else to look forward to this summer, to somewhat ease the pain...

Stewart's summer adventures

If Steve Clarke was going to select a striker for his Scotland national team squad, ahead of the World Cup, from the EFL, it looked nailed on to be Hull City's Oli McBurnie.

Indeed, McBurnie, who will be featuring in the playoff final for the Tigers, has been a man reborn in the Championship this season just gone for the Yorkshire outfit, bagging a red-hot 18 goals from 37 league outings.

Yet, Clarke seems to have his reasons for not selecting McBurnie, with Stewart getting the last-minute nod to jet off to the World Cup, alongside ex-Saints forward Che Adams.

Only capped twice for the Scotland national team, this will be a very proud moment for the Irvine-born marksman, even if the announcement has been lost in the midst of the dumpster fire that is the Saints' Spygate verdict.

Set to face off against the likes of Neymar, as Scotland butt heads with Brazil in Group C, a surreal summer is in the offing for the EFL veteran, with his Southampton future needing to be resolved, too, when the Spygate fiasco settles down more.

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