Sometimes you get the feeling that a sports reporter is going to ask a question after a match irrespective of what happens on the pitch during the game.
That was clearly the case on Monday after the Birmingham City match when Tonda Eckert was tossed a question in relation to his goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu.
Instead of inviting the Saints boss to comment on Bazunu's strong performance and match winning save, the interviewer decided to focus on the goalkeeper's poor stats and invite criticism from his manager.
Eckert refuses to criticise his keeper live on television
But the German refused to take the bait and rightly challenged the question.“I think that's not a fair discussion today. Gav has been Man of the Match today, and you throw a question at me to criticise my goalkeeper. He’s become Man of the Match, he's had an excellent performance today, and that's it.”
Criticism of Bazunu has been a regular discussion point in the Saints focused media for longer than just this season and Saints Marching has been among those calling for a replacement.
However, Bazunu was fairly named man-of-the-match by Sky Sports, almost entirely the result of a spectacular flying save that he made from Jay Stansfield which kept the Saints from falling two goals behind.
Had he not made that save, the focus of attention may have been more on his role in the soft looping headed goal that Birmingham did score.
Bazunu replacement set to sign with 'immediate effect'
Speculation had been rife that Southampton were preparing a bid for Sunderland shot stopper Anthony Patterson before it emerged yesterday, in German football outlet Bild, that Bayern Munich goalkeeper Daniel Peretz is now set to switch Hamburg for Saints 'with immediate effect', joining on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
Even so, there is a time and a place for a question like the one fielded by Eckert at St Andrew's on Monday.
The manager showed a touch of class and maturity beyond his years to protect Bazunu who offers plenty aside from mere shot stopping. He is an integral cog in the possession machine and an excellent sweeper-keeper.
Tonda Eckert will be well aware of the statistics in relation to his goalkeeper and conversations about strengthening that position must surely have taken place by now.
Hopefully, the interviewer on Monday felt sufficiently embarrassed by Eckert's chastising response to think more carefully about his questions in future. Maybe he will even watch the games.