Southampton will know, when walking out on the pitch at Watford on the opening day, that the home masses will take great delight in booing the Saints players.
Indeed, all season long, Tonda Eckert's men will be made to remember a dark point in their recent history, Spygate to be precise, by opposition fans revelling in their misery.
Spygate will be even more unavoidable for the first couple of matchdays at least, as well, because the South Coast giants enter the brand-new season hamstrung by a four point deduction, for their now widely-known espionage tactics.
It won't bother the Saints players that much, nor the fans, though, with the mood around St Mary's overwhelmingly positive, when blocking out this outside noise, with Flynn Downes even backing his slandered club for the title.
Away from the circus atmosphere that might well occur at Vicarage Road, the Spygate drama has resurfaced, too, on BBC Radio Five Live, as the 26/27 Championship season was previewed.
Safe to say, one EFL manager has offered a shocking take on the fallout of Spygate...
The shock take given on Spygate
The 72+ show, on BBC Radio Five Live, often discusses the main talking points in the EFL, and on the preview show looking ahead to the new second tier season, they had the likes of ex-Charlton Athletic striker Lyle Taylor on the panel.
Surprisingly, during his varied EFL career, he has never brushed shoulders with the Saints as an opponent.
The other notable face on the panel of talking heads was Andy Woodman, who will be managing Bromley in League One this forthcoming campaign, as he's taken the once National League minnows from non-league obscurity, to the third tier, under his reign.
While Danny Cowley has been complimentary of the Southampton in recent interviews, Woodman offered a shocking take on Spygate, instead, with the one-time West Ham United coach stating that Southampton should have relieved Eckert of his duties, when the news first broke.
"I'd have got rid of the manager." ❌
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 11, 2026
Our 72+ panel are surprised to see Tonda Eckert is still in post after Southampton's Spygate controversy. #BBCFootball #SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/JPDhOXYgHY
He said, when speaking on Tuesday night's show: "I've have got rid of the manager, I know I shouldn't say that, but that's what I would have done. I'd have cleared the decks."
Despite Woodman's assertions that Eckert should have been given the boot, amid pleading guilty to three charges of breaching FA rule 3.1, Southampton remain firmly behind their in-the-public-eye boss.
Southampton remain firmly behind Eckert
Of course, there is the elephant in the room of Spygate, there's no getting away from that.
But, the powers that be at St. Mary's want to stick by Eckert, as they know he's a seriously talented manager, away from this incident staining his reputation severely.
After all, he didn't fluke a 19-game unbeaten run at the end of the last regular season by chance.
Moreover, he has been apologetic for his involvement in spying on opposition teams, so unless he's banned outright, he will remain in the St. Mary's dug-out heading into the imminent campaign.
If he were to get off to a slow start, it would be intriguing to see if the patience that has been extended to him would wear thin.
Watching the Colchester United EFL Cup win, though, it appears that the Saints players are laser focused on picking up the polished wins to make promotion a reality, with all the outside murmurs of Spygate and what should happen with Eckert just being shut out.
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