Bayern Munich's Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, 25, is another whose current loan deal might be cut short after refusing to train for Hamburger SV in order to force a move to Southampton. (BILD - in German, subscription required), external
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Image source, ShutterstockAfter six wins in his first seven games, Southampton are now winless in six under Tonda Eckert
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert says his side must develop resilience to end their poor festive form behind them.
Saints conceded four goals in 22 minutes in losing heavily at Middlesbrough as their winless streak stretched to six games (three draws, three losses).
It means they are now 15th in the Championship and the feelgood period of Eckert's first few weeks in charge has well and truly evaporated.
"We need to become more resilient as a group," he told BBC Radio Solent. "We can be 2-0 up today, but not every game is going to go that way.
"We've had some games that went this way and it all looks very nice but there are some games that are just not there and we need to be more resilient."
The German knows a lot of work is required ahead of their next league game at home to Hull City on 17 January.
He added: "It is two weeks until we play our next league game, we need to stick our heads together and find solutions for that because in the second half of the season there are many points to play for, but as I keep saying, we need to be more resilient."
Image source, Getty ImagesSouthampton head coach Tonda Eckert has added former Charlton Athletic boss Ben Garner to his coaching team.
Garner, 45, moves to St Mary's as Eckert's first-team assistant coach, completing the German's backroom staff that already includes Jeremy Newton and Ben Reeves, as well as goalkeeper coach Ryan Flood and analyst Albert Jones.
Garner, a former Crystal Palace assistant who has previously managed Bristol Rovers and Swindon, last worked in English football as Colchester United boss.
After he was sacked by the U's in October 2023, he moved his career overseas to work in youth development by taking a role at Ghana's Right to Dream international academy.
Image source, Getty ImagesSouthampton are 14th in the Championship
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert says the result against Middlesbrough on Sunday will dictate whether he is happy to have drawn 0-0 with Millwall.
The Saints dominated for long spells but could not find a way past the Lions defence.
"If you draw a game, it depends what happens after," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"If we can bring home a good result against Middlesbrough, there will be positives to take here."
Eckert made five changes for the game and was pleased to not concede.
"We could have won the game at the end. I'm happy with the clean sheet, we work very hard on that. We didn't take our chances.
"It is four games in 10 days, I was happy with the boys who came in and played today. It is the second game in a row we've had a good impact from the bench."
Southampton will look to do what visitors Millwall did last time out and end a four match winless run when they welcome the Lions to St Mary's on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).
Millwall picked up a big win over Bristol City on Monday to put themselves back in the top six but only a victory will guarantee they stay there by the time the first day of the new year is done and dusted.
Southampton won seven consecutive home league games against Millwall between 1948 and 1975 but have since won just two of eight meetings with the Lions on home turf (D2 L4), most recently losing 2-1 in February 2024.
Millwall have won their last two league games against Southampton and could complete a league double over the Lions for the first time the 1977-78 campaign in the second tier.
Southampton have only lost one of their last six league games played on New Year's Day (W3 D2), a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea in the 2013-14 Premier League campaign.
Millwall have won four of their last five league games on New Year's Day but were beaten 1-0 by Oxford United last year – the Lions have never started back-to-back calendar years with defeat on January 1st in the Football League.
Southampton's Adam Armstrong has scored (1) or assisted (2) in each of his three Championship appearances on New Year's Day, most recently netting in a 1-1 draw with Norwich City in 2024.
Tonda Eckert: 'We had impact from the bench today'
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert spoke to BBC Radio Solent after his side's 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.
"I keep repeating, we play every game for three points but at the same time we know it is a tough place to come and not an easy place to play," he said.
"You know if you come here they have high energy, especially at the start, and you might need to go a little bit longer.
"We've been talking about for weeks that we need impact from the bench and we had that today. I'm very happy with the players who came on.
"I think it's a good point if we get three against Millwall."
Image source, PA MediaSouthampton conceded late as they were defeated at Oxford
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert said that their loss at Oxford United on boxing day was "disappointing".
The hosts took the lead thanks to a strike by Tyler Goodrham before Saints levelled prior to half time through Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Stan Mills then ran through to score a dramatic late winner and claim all three points for managerless Oxford.
"It's disappointing because we wanted to start this block of games well," Eckert said after the match.
"We lost the calmness a little bit which is something you need in games like that, it continued in the second half and was a very open game.
"We are now halfway through the season and have nowhere near the amount of points that we need.
"The positive thing is that we play again in a few days, we need to make sure we start the second half of the season well."
Southampton had claims for a penalty waved away in the first half as Leo Scienza ran through and was brought down.
Eckert's side are next in action when they play Birmingham City on 29 December at St Andrew's.
For the third successive Boxing Day Oxford United will have a different manager in charge from the one they started the season with after they sacked Gary Rowett on Tuesday.
Southampton are looking to avoid going three games without a league win for the third time this season.
This is the first league meeting between Oxford and Southampton since April 1988, and a goalless draw in the top-flight.
Southampton have won all four of their second-tier games against Oxford United, with these taking place between 1974 and 1976.
Oxford have won four of their past five Boxing Day league games (L1), with all four of those victories coming in home games.
Southampton have lost two of their past three Boxing Day league games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (W7 D4).
Southampton have conceded 42 away league goals in 2025 so far – only once this century have they shipped more on the road in a year, conceding 54 in 2021 in the Premier League.
Image source, ShutterstockSouthampton head coach Tonda Eckert believes his side had "more than enough chances" to beat 10-man Coventry following their 1-1 draw at St Mary's.
He told BBC Radio Solent: "We played to win in the end, it's something that we keep emphasising with the players. We play to win and that's the most important thing.
"Today it's disappointment because I think the chances were there to come away with three points.
"I think they kept a back four for quite long after they got the red card and it was a little bit easier because we had space then on the sides to drive.
"But when they went to a back-five, it was a little bit different. I still think we got in some very promising positions. Maybe not enough personnel in the final moments but it's a good team and we managed to play the whole game in their half.
"I think there were more than enough chances to win the game in the end."
Coventry go into Saturday's game (12.30 GMT) having beaten Bristol City last weekend after a two-game winless run.
Only the Sky Blues (19) have taken more than Southampton's 18 points over the past eight Championship matches, although the Saints did suffer a 2-1 defeat by Norwich last Saturday.
Southampton have won three of their past four league games against Coventry (D1), as many as they had in their previous 18 (D9 L6).
Coventry have lost their past two away league games against Southampton, last losing three in a row between December 1970 and December 1972.
Coventry have won more points (21) than any other side away from home in the Championship this season, but have failed to win either of their past two away trips in the competition (0-3 v Ipswich and 1-1 v Preston).
Coventry's Ephron Mason-Clark has created the most chances in open play in the Championship this season (32), while team-mate Matt Grimes has created the most chances from set plays (28).
Saints Social: Lacking Plan B?
"Frank Lampard has done an outstanding job [at Coventry] and they'll come to Southampton a little bit apprehensive as well.
"They would have seen the form the guys [Southampton] are in and they'll be preparing for a tough game themselves."
BBC Radio Solent's Jono Holmes and former Saints goalkeeper Kelvin Davis reflect on what went wrong against Norwich as Southampton prepare to face one of the biggest tests in the second tier - hosting league leaders Coventry City.
Listen to the latest episode of Saints Social and more Southampton content on BBC Sounds.
Image source, ShutterstockTonda Eckert says facing Championship leaders Coventry is the perfect opportunity for Southampton to bounce back and test their own promotion credentials.
After winning six of his first seven games in charge, Eckert's side suffered a 2-1 defeat at Norwich on Saturday which left them four places and four points adrift of the play-off spots and 17 behind the table-topping Sky Blues.
"If you have big ambitions for the season you have to be disappointed with Saturday (but) it's important to clear your head," Eckert told BBC Radio Solent. "We'll be fully prepared to go big on Saturday.
"There are moments in which we need to improve. It takes a little bit of time, I know time is not always available in football and we want to be quick and implement things quickly, but I think we are heading in a good direction in general.
"Compliments to what Coventry have achieved so far, but we will be ready on Saturday.
"It's a perfect game for us. I love playing at St Mary's. We've been quite successful in our [recent] home games. We are full of energy and will be all-in."
While the play-off places remain a realistic aim with 25 games remaining, some fans are hoping Saints can mount a challenge for the top-two thanks to the momentum built since the departure of Will Still at the start of November.
Eckert was cautious about setting such a target and added: "The aim is to collect point by point.
"I have said we are ambitious and want to play for promotion this season. I don't know if I need to say we want to attack Coventry… on Saturday we will, [but] we also need to acknowledge the gap. We have some big steps to go."
Saints have scored 22 goals and conceded 11 in his eight games but Eckert says they need to find a way to sneak 1-0s to keep their promotion hopes alive, and has brought in a sport psychology firm this week to help players in set-piece phases.
"Coventry have been very efficient so far, they are rightly sitting first at the moment," he said.
"They have a variety of ways to score and though they average more than a goal a game, sometimes one goal needs to be enough to win. They have done that and it's a step we need to take.
"If you score one off a set-piece, you don't concede - three points, thank you very much, onto the next game,"
Winger Tom Fellows is ready to feature on Saturday but defender Elias Jelert may have to wait for the Oxford United game on Boxing Day while wing-back Mads Roerslev will resume training next week.
Eckert said he always has "eyes and ears open" about potential January signings but is "very happy with the squad" he currently has.
Image source, Getty ImagesRyan Manning has won 22 caps for the Republic of Ireland
Southampton goalscorer Ryan Manning told BBC Radio Solent after his side's 2-1 defeat at Norwich City:
"We have set such high standards over the last seven or eight games that to come out in the second half and start so poorly and let them go one up was frustrating.
"We got back in the game, you look to try to build on that and try to go for the winner but we ended up conceding again.
"It was a combination of errors in the second half that cost us today.
"Ultimately, clean sheets are vital in this league. We have been fortunate in scoring a lot recently but to score more than two goals every week is unrealistic. I think we have to start tightening that up.
"We have to start grinding out the 1-0s - they are the ones that will stand for us come the end of the season.
"There is still a lot of work to do."
