Saints' Eckert praises fan 'connection' at St Mary's

Eckert has taken 47 points from his 20 home matches since becoming Saints head coach [Getty Images] Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert says their "connection" to fans is key to the club's impressive home form in 2026. The 33-year-old was promoted from Saints' U21s coach to replace the sacked Will Still in November 2025, with the club lying 21st in the table. Since then, Saints have won 47 points at St Mary's, the best home record in the Championship, including winning the first three home games of the new season. "You know the condition the club was in when I came in and you know the condition our supporters were in the moment I came in," Eckert told BBC Radio Solent. "Its not easy to play home games if you don't have that connection. And rightly so, there was not that connection at that very moment for a variety of things going on. "Then you need to earn that right to connect again to the supporters, to the city, because it means so much more the football to the city of Southampton." The German led Saints to the Championship play-offs last season, before the club was thrown out following the Spygate scandal. Despite fans' initial anger, attendances have stayed around the 30,000 mark heading into the new season, keeping them among the top 20 attendances in the country. "Its not one thing that you change. There are so many small steps that you need to take to earn the trust and build on a connection and build a relationship back up. "St Mary's just feels completely different than it did a year ago and that is just many, many things coming together. "However, I do believe that to 'win' a season, you must play a successful season at home." Meanwhile, Eckert has confirmed Saturday's game with Bristol City has come "too early" for midfielder Caspar Jander. The 23-year-old is yet to play this season, having struggled with a quad injury he sustained early in their first pre-season game against National League side Eastleigh. "We're going to push, so hopefully it's going to be some minutes against Wrexham (on 19 September). We had to delay a little bit, but I think he's on a good way now". Latest Southampton news and analysis