Tonda Eckert vindicated: Why Southampton boss was right to fire back after away win

Tonda Eckert's dream couple of weeks in the Southampton dug-out continued at Carrow Road on Wednesday night.

Indeed, he has remained in the dug-out, despite so much talk circling that he'd be facing a lengthy ban for his role in Spygate, and he has managed to collect two gritty and determined wins, since this six-week suspension came to light.

The Saints managed to overcome Portsmouth 1-0 in a heated South Coast Derby, despite being down to ten men for a large portion of the feisty contest, and they have also now managed to collect their first away win of the season against Norwich City, as Kuryu Matsuki's scrambled home effort broke their away day duck.

Everything is going swimmingly for the German in the hot-seat, with the Saints now into the playoff picture after collecting the three points in Norfolk.

But, he still faced some rather pressing questions afterwards, leading to the 33-year-old firing back against these post-match remarks.

Eckert fires back against line of questioning

Adam Blackmore, who is a respected journalist in Southampton quarters, would ask a rather prickly question, after the dust had settled on the 1-0 win, about Eckert's team selection choices.

He would state, rather matter-of-factly: "Sometimes management is about making important decisions, I think we all probably doubted or worried about the team news and you’ve won with a second clean sheet in a row, talk us through the thinking with the changes?”

Eckert would fight back against these worries and doubts, by confidently retorting: "I don’t like that question. Why do you doubt me?”

Clearly, the German was expected a wave of positive questions, after Southampton picked up a monumental victory on the road.

But, he was greeted - instead - with a challenging question about his team selection, and he was right to fire back so decisively, as while many would have been puzzled before the match, he got the majority of the selection calls spot on, with a win the most important end outcome.

He was right to be so fiery as well

At the end of the day, Eckert has now won 27 Championship matches as Saints boss, so he should be trusted a little with the alterations he makes.

He didn't get every call right, as Zach Abbott came into the team and failed to win a single duel, but he certainly helped turn around Lewis Dobbin's narrative at Carrow Road by starting him, as the £9m summer signing was breathless with his work rate all match long.

Moreover, Samuel Edozie, who many have written off on the South Coast, also started and justified his inclusion, as he amassed two successful dribbles as a pacey option down the left.

Before the match, starting Abbott, Dobbin, and Edozie would have felt reckless, as this trio had very few Championship starts next to their name for the season.

But, away from the Nottingham Forest loanee, Dobbin and Edozie proved their worth, and backed up the ex-Aston Villa attacker's comments, after the game, that the Saints boast one of the best squads in the entire league.

With games continuing to come thick and fast, Eckert might have to make more intriguing calls.

Yet, he has enough credit in his bank to be supported when these unexpected selection decisions are made, as he was vindicated on Wednesday night when a first away win of the season fell into his lap.

Ultimately, Blackmore likely didn't mean to offend Eckert.

The German's fiery response shouldn't be seen as rude, either, as it just shows a manager who is deeply passionate and hell-bent to taste success with the full group of players at his fingertips.

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