Hellberg reveals Eckert apology after Spygate

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg says he received a phone call from Tonda Eckert to apologise over the Spygate affair.

Southampton were kicked out of the Championship play-off final after they were caught spying on a Middlesbrough training session two days before the first leg of the teams' semi-final clash.

On Wednesday, Eckert was handed a suspended six-week ban and a £28,000 fine by the Football Association (FA) for his involvement in the whole affair.

"I think for us and for me, it ended after the judgement in the first one," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees. "I'm not want to keep a grudge after that.

"I get that punishment and then we move on. I talked to Tonda since that day and he called me and apologised for those things.

"In general, it was up to them to make their decision so for us, it's moving forward and trying to spend everything on ourselves, that's the main thing."

Middlesbrough were beaten late in extra-time of their second leg of their semi-final at St Mary's and after that game, Hellberg was visibly hurt by what had happened.

But five months on, and with Boro subsequently having lost to Hull City in the final at Wembley and then rebuilt their squad, the Swede is not keen to go over old ground.

He even says that he is happy for the Saints boss to be given another chance.

"After the game, I talked about my point-of-view on it," added Hellberg. "I never said anything about what was the ban, I just talked about the emotions that I felt about it.

"I'm not the one to keep a grudge in terms of that. Everyone is entitled to a second chance. I try to live by that every day."