Southampton have been transformed beyond recognition by Tonda Eckert. Before the young German coach took on the Head Coach position, first as interim, the team had managed just two clean sheets at St Mary's.
With the benefit of hindsight, the 0-0 stalemates against Swansea and Portsmouth were terrible results, only made palatable by the fact that Southampton's defence had not been breached.
Goals under Will Still were hard to come by, too, despite Southampton having an expected goals statistic among the highest in the Championship.
Initially, under the new interim Head Coach, the Saints continued to struggle for clean sheets despite picking up a decent number of points.
Two clean sheets at home turned into four when Southampton thrashed 10-man Leicester City 3-0 and held high-flying Millwall to a 0-0 bore-draw at St Mary's on New Year's Day.
Gavin Bazunu, the Southampton goalkeeper, marked his final home match for the Saints (before going out on loan to Stoke City) with a remarkable point-blank save from Thierno Ballo in the Millwall game, before conceding four goals away at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Park.
Daniel Peretz: Take a bow
The decision to bring in Israeli keeper Daniel Peretz could prove to be the most inspired loan transfer in Southampton's recent history. Since the charismatic shot-stopper has come into the team, he has kept six clean sheets in eight Championship matches played at St Mary's.
Only Ipswich Town and Millwall can match the nine clean sheets that Southampton have kept at home, seven of which have been achieved after Tonda Eckert took over from Will Still.
Team Name | Clean Sheets at home 2025/26 |
|---|---|
Southampton | 9 |
Ipswich | 9 |
Millwall | 9 |
Charlton Athletic | 8 |
Middlesbrough | 8 |
Peretz has made a string of unbelievable saves to protect the Southampton goal, including man-of-the-match performances away at Coventry City and at home against Norwich City.
Although Peretz has clearly been the key difference-maker, Eckert has been emphasising the importance of keeping clean sheets since his first few weeks in the role.
An inexplicable decision explained
The return of James Bree to the club from his inexplicable loan to Charlton has also made a great difference to the Southampton defence.
Bree is strong in the tackle, can shoot (as witnessed in the QPR match), adds height to the defence in dead-ball situations, crosses effectively, and strikes a good dead-ball. His corner-kick assist for Cyle Larin's debut goal against Watford is a testament to the last point.
What Sport Republic were thinking is anybody's guess. Elias Jelert is not in Bree's league, and Mads Roerslev hasn't been fit enough to make a claim.
While Southampton are top of the table for clean sheets at home, they are only a mid-table side when it comes to most shots taken in March.
Without a natural goal-scorer in the squad, the Saints have learned to adapt their style of play. Goals have come from a range of sources since Adam Armstrong's departure, including Flynn Downes, who has scored twice.
Securing promotion may not be earned through scoring lots of goals. It's more likely to be achieved by keeping them out.