Tonda Eckert celebrates hat-trick ahead of Southampton’s playoff match against Middlesbrough

Tonda Eckert already has a reason to celebrate ahead of the Championship playoffs kicking off.

Lost in all the drama of Southampton's spying antics being made breaking news, the German has been crowned the Manager of the Month in the second tier, again, for April.

Hopefully, May ends in a promotion being sealed to cap off a truly sublime debut season in the management chair for the much-loved head coach.

Eckert deserves all these accolades

The South Coast outfit might well have come up short in their aims to sneak into the top two in the Championship when Jack Clarke scored a late equaliser for Ipswich towards the close of April, but Eckert is very deserving of another award for his mantelpiece.

Indeed, April saw Eckert and Co. go another seven matches unbeaten in the frightening environment of the Championship, and they made it look easy at points, with a 5-1 victory over Wrexham sticking out in the middle of the jam-packed month.

Beating Arsenal in the FA Cup was also another memorable game from the fixture-heavy month, and with the promising young manager being handed another Manager of the Month award, he has been given this accolade three months on the spin.

This is some achievement, to have collected this hat-trick, with Eckert noting that it is an "honour" to be recognised so widely.

However, the main prize of promotion is still up for grabs, and he will desperately want to add a promotion to his fledgling managerial CV, to further affirm his status as a rising talent from the dug-out.

Eckert will have his eyes on the main prize

While the 33-year-old will love all this praise coming his way, he has always struck me as a figure who is very humble and driven, no matter what achievements he has already ticked off.

That was very apparent after Southampton's slim 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup, which saw various neutral faces wax lyrical about Eckert and his Saints side.

At the close of that game at Wembley, the promotion-chasing boss was extremely matter-of-fact, as he looked immediately ahead to Southampton's Tuesday night clash with Ipswich, not wanting to drown in his own praise.

This constant wanting to look forward and drown out outside noise should make Eckert the perfect manager to navigate the stresses of the playoffs, as he hasn't flinched once during his team's 19-game unbeaten streak in the league, when games have become tough or nervy.

He does have the unfortunate weight of a new Spygate scandal dominating the pre-match conversation, but he will be so laser-focused on achieving an instant return to the Premier League that all this chatter will be merely water off a duck's back for the promising head coach.

With the rollercoaster season Southampton have experienced, it would be a dream ending to instantly leap back to the top-flight.

Middlesbrough will be sternly standing in their way, but with Eckert's methodical and calm approach, he will already have a game plan in mind, as the multiple Manager of the Month award winner attempts to steer his plucky team back to Wembley.

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