Since taking up the reins at St Mary's, interim manager Tonda Eckert has delivered four wins from five matches. Quite rightly, he is now the front-runner to be offered the permanent gig in the next few days.
Eckert has not only stabilised a floundering squad, but also he has revitalised them and turned them into genuine promotion candidates.
He has taken the club from just a few points above the relegation zone to a handful of points away from the top six and a play-off place.
With eight games to come in just 31 days, now is not the time for indecision or disruption. Appointing the caretaker manager into the permanent role could quickly establish a sense of stability that has been missing since Will Still was sacked.
Tonda Eckert has two key strengths - applauds the veteran
Southampton's returning veteran midfielder, Oriol Romeu, has already spoken out positively about the young German coach.
The Spaniard addressed Eckert's character and communication skills as key strengths. In an interview with BBC Radio Solent, Romeu applauded the football knowledge that the former Under-21 boss has.
"He has great football knowledge, and to do what he has done has not come out of the blue - I am 100 per cent convinced.“
"The way he has changed things around has been amazing. I think he is a coach who has some character and great communication skills.“
Romeu offered some insight into how Eckert's time in the job has turned the form of the team around. Not many managers could get a struggling team to perform so well in such a short time, as the German has.
"He has stepped in really well, and it wasn't an easy job because we were struggling before he arrived."
Romeu's feelings about Eckert's future are promising
The veteran Saints midfielder implied that there was even more to come from the young caretaker boss and that players would benefit from more time to buy into Eckert's ideas and playing tempo.
"Every manager and group needs time to get into the coach's ideas and the rhythm that he wants us to do things.“
Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Finn Azaz, Tom Fellows, and Adam Armstrong have all experienced spikes in their performance and the result has been an impressive string of results.
"I am sure that we can be really successful together and that we can do nice things together throughout the season."
According to the Southampton Daily Echo, Eckert has revealed that “he has spoken with technical director Johannes Spors about the role.“