Johannes Spors sat in the directors' box at St Mary's last weekend knowing the worst was behind him. Back in the summer, the picture looked very different. Southampton's group technical director has spoken publicly for the first time about the strain of building a Championship squad while the Spygate scandal still hung over the club and its head coach.

Planning into the unknown

"Of course, it did put me into a difficult position," Spors told BBC Radio Solent. "It was something that probably no-one, or at least not many sporting directors have experienced, planning into a season and a squad with that level of uncertainty."

The source of that uncertainty: in May, Southampton were expelled from the play-offs and docked four points after admitting they had spied on three Championship clubs during the season. Head coach Tonda Eckert then faced a Football Association investigation that threatened him with a ban serious enough to cost him his job entirely.

Spors, appointed group technical director in February 2025, had played the central role in bringing Eckert to the club. With his own appointment still relatively fresh, he found himself navigating a summer in which the man he had hired might not be permitted to take a single training session once the new campaign began.

The decision to back Eckert

The club could have cut ties with the German coach after Eckert admitted his involvement in May. Owner Dragan Solak and the board chose otherwise, and Spors says that choice felt straightforward to him personally, even if the professional circumstances were anything but.

"I only felt one choice and I'm happy that everybody around me, including Dragan Solak, was very aligned," he said. "We decided to go this route and take it with all consequences and I'm happy we've done that."

The professional bond between Spors and Eckert runs close to a decade. The pair worked together in Italy and at Red Bull before Spors engineered Eckert's move to Southampton. That history shaped how Spors approached the summer on a human level, not just a footballing one.

"I really focused a lot in the summer on supporting him as much as I could," Spors said. "We cannot forget that he's a young man with a lot going on in his life, coming into a new country as an unknown and being on the highest level of recognition pretty quickly. I just wanted to make sure that he's OK as a human being."

Spors brought in specialists to fill gaps in his own knowledge, surrounding Eckert with a support network designed to cover the psychological and practical pressures the coach was absorbing.

Sanctions confirmed, stability restored

The uncertainty lifted in early October when the FA confirmed Eckert would be fined £28,000. The six-week ban attached to the ruling was suspended until the end of next season, meaning he remains free to manage throughout the current campaign.

Southampton have repaid the faith shown in both men. After 11 Championship matches the club sit eighth, carrying the best home record in the division: five wins and a draw at St Mary's, unbeaten on their own patch. Spors monitors progress from the directors' box alongside chief executive Phil Parsons.

"Our relationship is close, we speak to each other nearly every day and support each other," Spors said of Eckert. "We can also have hard discussions behind closed doors, where we challenge each other, and I think that's as important as the support."

With the sanctions resolved and results building, Southampton's summer of turbulence reads now as a test the club passed. Whether that resilience carries them further up the Championship table over the winter months will be the next measure of how well the foundations Spors laid have held.

Frequently asked

What punishment did Southampton receive for the Spygate scandal?
Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-offs and deducted four points after admitting they had spied on three clubs during the season.
What happened to Tonda Eckert after the Spygate investigation?
The FA fined Eckert £28,000 and issued a six-week ban that was suspended until the end of next season, allowing him to continue as Southampton head coach.
Who is Johannes Spors and what does he do at Southampton?
Johannes Spors was appointed Southampton's group technical director in February 2025. He oversees the club's sporting structure and played a key role in hiring head coach Tonda Eckert.