Tonda Eckert believes the renewed bond between Southampton and their supporters is the foundation beneath the club's remarkable home record in the Championship, and he has been unusually candid about how fragile that relationship once was.

The 33-year-old was handed the head coach role in November 2025, stepping up from the Saints under-21s after Will Still was sacked with the club sitting 21st in the table. What followed at St Mary's has been, by any reasonable measure, exceptional: 47 points from 20 home matches under Eckert, the best home record in the second tier. Southampton have continued that form into the new season, winning their first three home games.

"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. "It's 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."

Earning trust back, step by step

The German coach is careful not to overstate the simplicity of what has been achieved. He frames the recovery in deliberately modest terms, insisting there was no single switch to flip.

"It's not one thing that you change," he said. "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."

That is a fair description of what a fanbase looks like when it has been through a difficult period. Southampton's supporters had genuine grievances heading into last season: a club in freefall in the table, and, later, the extraordinary circumstances of being thrown out of the play-offs following the Spygate scandal after Eckert had guided them to a top-six finish. By rights, attendances could have collapsed.

Instead, crowds at St Mary's have held firm at around 30,000, keeping Southampton among the top 20 for attendances in the country. That is a significant detail. It suggests the supporters chose to stay invested even when they had every reason to disengage, and it places a clear obligation on the club to meet them halfway.

A tactical conviction behind the numbers

Eckert has been open elsewhere this season about the style he wants Southampton to play, and there is an argument that identity on the pitch has done as much for the atmosphere at St Mary's as any off-pitch gestures. Supporters tend to reconnect fastest when they can see a coherent idea being executed.

The home record bears that out, though it is worth noting the limitation of the data: home form over roughly a calendar year is a meaningful sample, but it tells us relatively little about how repeatable it is under the pressure of a promotion race. The Championship has a way of equalising things as the season deepens.

"I do believe that to 'win' a season, you must play a successful season at home," Eckert said. That is a principle most Championship managers would agree with; the question is whether Southampton can sustain it when the stakes rise.

Jander setback a minor concern

On a more immediate note, Eckert confirmed that midfielder Caspar Jander will miss Saturday's match with Bristol City. The 23-year-old has not featured this season after picking up a quad injury in pre-season against Eastleigh, and Eckert said the game had come "too early" for him.

The target, according to the head coach, is to give Jander some minutes against Wrexham on 19 September, though he acknowledged there had been a slight delay to that timeline. "I think he's on a good way now," Eckert added, which at least suggests the concern is about caution rather than anything more serious.

For Southampton, the bigger picture remains the most compelling story in the Championship this season: a club that fell hard, rebuilt its relationship with its own city, and is now asking whether a strong home record can carry them back to where they want to be.

Frequently asked

What is Southampton's home record under Tonda Eckert?
Southampton have taken 47 points from 20 home Championship matches since Eckert became head coach in November 2025, the best home record in the division over that period.
When will Caspar Jander return for Southampton?
Eckert has said the match against Bristol City has come too early for Jander, with the target being to give him some minutes against Wrexham on 19 September 2026.
What is Southampton's average attendance at St Mary's this season?
Attendances at St Mary's have held at around 30,000, keeping Southampton among the top 20 clubs for attendance across the country despite a difficult recent period.