Southampton’s Ben Garner On Jurgen Klopp, Signing Bundesliga Players And Tonda Eckert’s Qualities

Southampton’s Ben Garner On Jurgen Klopp, Signing Bundesliga Players And Tonda Eckert’s Qualities An interview with Southampton assistant coach Ben Garner, by Ben McFadyean for WFi . Let me start by asking you about the former Bundesliga players at the club, Damion Downes, Leo Scienza, Daniel Peretz, Joshua Quarshie and Casper Jander. You have been working with a number of them for some time now; is there a specific ethic or character that they bring to the club that makes them stand out? “From what I see the German players and those who have played there bring a really professional mentality, they come in every day ready to put maximum effort in, they are looking to improve their skills, they want to get better and want to have as much information as possible, they want the details around the game, they are tactically intelligent and they bring an outstanding level of physical preparation so it creates a great package to work with. I’m impressed from what I can see; their main thing is they want to develop and improve at all times.” Whilst Damion Downes missed out in the US national team for the World Cup , Cyle Larin represented co-hosts Canada and Ross Stewart was in the Scotland team; both have recently returned to the club. I know you have followed the tournament closely, in particular the performances of those players. Has taking part improved the players? “It is too early to assess that, but it has been a longer-than-usual tournament, and for now the players have to be given time to recover; hence they are not in the squad today.” You have spoken highly in the media of your Germany U21 internationals Casper Jander and Joshua Quarshie and have said that you admire their work ethic and dedication. What do you see as the main reasons for the shortcomings of the Germany team? “Yes, I do see that in Casper and Josh. Naturally that is for the Germany coaches to look at but I have seen the Germany games and in my view, there are simply a lot stronger squads in the tournament overall, in particular the depth of squad right now seems more limited in the case of the Germany right now, I think they have limited options right now, and that is why they have only reached a certain point.” You have mentioned the limited player options for Germany. You have held managerial positions at clubs including Charlton Athletic, QPR and Swindon Town and have faced Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp and seen his contribution over the years at Anfield. What difference do you think he can make for Germany? “Jürgen is first and foremost a world-class coach. He has shown that at whatever club he is working with, every side he has been with, he improves greatly; he infuses them with his personality and lifts the club. I am sure that he can develop many players further; he can achieve a lot with Germany also.” Tonda Eckert has been in the media a lot recently for sporting reasons but also due to the investigation about unauthorised filming at opponents’ training sessions. Saints were not fancied ahead of the season, but you narrowly missed out on promotion. What has Tonda brought to the club? “Well I wouldn’t specify one thing, he has so many good attributes as a coach and as a person, Tonda first and foremost brings his dedication and his work ethic to the club, he has a high degree of tactical intelligence and appreciation of the players, he is good at seeing what the player’s need at certain moments and he is an excellent man manager, I would put it the other way round what does he not bring? I would be struggling to find a weakness; putting everything aside, Tonda is simply a very good manager; he brings so much to the club.” So can he take you up?