Southampton are ‘considering’ appointing potential candidate and current interim boss Tonda Eckert after a win against struggling QPR.
Lyall Thomas has said, via Sky Sports, that ‘Tonda Eckert will take Southampton into their next Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday, as the club consider him a potential candidate for the full-time job.’
This comes after Southampton picked up a 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Wednesday night, with second-half goals from teenager Jay Robinson (55′) and Leonardo Scienza (69′) clinching only their third Championship win of the season.
Despite late pressure from the hosts, Southampton held firm for their first win since late September, taking them up to 19th in the table. Meanwhile, QPR sit remain 16th after a sixth league defeat.
Tonda Eckert will take #Southampton into their next Championship game against #SheffieldWednesday, as the club consider him a potential candidate for the full-time job. Off to winning start at #QPR last night. More on @SkySportsNews #Saintsfc https://t.co/OzHTtF6aQx pic.twitter.com/2wJlo269KM
— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) November 6, 2025
FAVOURITES TO BEOCME NEW SOUTHAMPTON MANAGER:
BetVictor – 6 Nov
Tonda Eckert – 1/1
Russell Martin – 3/1
Gary O’Neil – 4/1
Michael Carrick – 5/1
Lyall Thomas:
Tonda Eckert will take Southampton into their next Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday, as the club consider him as a potential candidate for the full-time job.
The U21s boss is highly regarded within the club and took the team to victory over QPR on Wednesday night, in their first game since Will Still was sacked.
German Eckert was appointed U21s boss in the summer by Saints sporting director Johannes Spors, who is leading the search for the next permanent head coach. The process to identify external candidates is ongoing.
Eckert arrived from Genoa, where he had been an assistant to Patrick Vieira and before that, Alberto Gilardino and Alexander Blessin. Eckert has previous experience in the Championship as an assistant to Valerien Ismael at Barnsley.
The positive result at Loftus Road has given him a further chance to stake his claim in a first home game at St Mary’s on Saturday, as they host struggling Sheffield Wednesday.
He just kept going 🏃♂️💨
👏 @LeoScienza10 pic.twitter.com/5BmenKM5MF
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) November 5, 2025
Needed those points on the board.#SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/b8zh7lnIjb
— Alfie House (@AlfieHouseEcho) November 5, 2025
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Lyall Thomas and Mark McAdam:
Southampton are undergoing a thorough process to identify their next permanent head coach – led by sporting director Johannes Spors – but are not in a rush to make an appointment.
Spors, who is also the ownership group’s technical director, is drawing up a list of candidates and is believed to be looking towards his native Germany for preferred options.
Former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is not thought to be one of them, however, despite watching the team recently. He is understood to have been a guest of Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber for the Saints’ 3-1 defeat at Ashton Gate late last month.
A return for former boss Russell Martin, recently sacked by Rangers, is also unlikely, Sky Sports News understands, despite Martin retaining support from several first-team players who reached the Premier League under his guidance.
Saints’ U21s head coach Tonda Eckert is taking charge of the team on a temporary basis, and the club are looking to give him their full support in the interim period, hoping a positive upturn in results gives them time to make the right decision.
Eckert is being supported by former Saints player Adam Lallana, who would be interested in becoming a head coach but is deemed an unlikely option at this time, given his lack of experience in the role.
Southampton sacked Still after a third straight defeat against Preston, left them 21st in the Championship table. The club’s target is a swift return to the Premier League, but they are currently 10 points behind the play-off places.
Interim Southampton boss Tonda Eckert told BBC Radio Solent:
“The boys have put an excellent shift in and managed to get through the second half. There were some hard spells there but it was a deserved win in the end.
“My job is to prepare the boys to win football games, that’s it. The resilience was good tonight, that’s everything, especially if you come out of a tough period.
“It speaks for the character of the boys. I hope the fans see that we have left everything on the pitch. That’s what gets you three points in the end.”
On the possibility of landing the job permanently, per Daily Echo:
“Look, the answer is very easy on this one. My job is to prepare the game today in the best way possible.
“My job is to prepare the game on Saturday in the best way possible. That’s what all my focus is on. It’s going to be three very important days until Saturday. Then we can all take a breath.
“I think the only thing I can do is give energy and give a structure, and prepare them in the best way possible.
“We’re going to do the same thing for Saturday and hopefully confirm [the improvement], and then we’ll go into a break and go again.”
QPR boss Julien Stephan told BBC Radio London:
“It was probably the most frustration at the end of the game since the start of the season. We are very disappointed but I am very proud of the players and how they played.
“Sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve. Most important is to be positive because I think we did a good performance, perhaps the best since the start of the season, especially against a low block.”
Stephan, per Sky Sports:
“I think it was probably our best performance since the start of the season. We had a lot of chances to score. The performance is one thing, the result is another thing.
“I have to have a bigger-picture view and need to think about the performance because, for me, if we continue to play like this it is impossible we will not have good wins and many points in the future.
“I feel sorry for the players and also the fans. I think they deserved another thing today, with the quality of the performance.
Speaking after defeat to Southampton 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/RtJo4yWDqb
— QPR FC (@QPR) November 5, 2025
Ilias gives his reaction 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/42TsKctw6y
— QPR FC (@QPR) November 5, 2025
