Southampton

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Southampton manager Tonda Eckert says the result against Middlesbrough on Sunday will dictate whether he is happy to have drawn 0-0 with Millwall.

The Saints dominated for long spells but could not find a way past the Lions defence.

"If you draw a game, it depends what happens after," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"If we can bring home a good result against Middlesbrough, there will be positives to take here."

Eckert made five changes for the game and was pleased to not concede.

"We could have won the game at the end. I'm happy with the clean sheet, we work very hard on that. We didn't take our chances.

"It is four games in 10 days, I was happy with the boys who came in and played today. It is the second game in a row we've had a good impact from the bench."

Southampton will look to do what visitors Millwall did last time out and end a four match winless run when they welcome the Lions to St Mary's on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

Millwall picked up a big win over Bristol City on Monday to put themselves back in the top six but only a victory will guarantee they stay there by the time the first day of the new year is done and dusted.

• Southampton won seven consecutive home league games against Millwall between 1948 and 1975 but have since won just two of eight meetings with the Lions on home turf (D2 L4), most recently losing 2-1 in February 2024.

• Millwall have won their last two league games against Southampton and could complete a league double over the Lions for the first time the 1977-78 campaign in the second tier.

• Southampton have only lost one of their last six league games played on New Year's Day (W3 D2), a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea in the 2013-14 Premier League campaign.

• Millwall have won four of their last five league games on New Year's Day but were beaten 1-0 by Oxford United last year – the Lions have never started back-to-back calendar years with defeat on January 1st in the Football League.

• Southampton's Adam Armstrong has scored (1) or assisted (2) in each of his three Championship appearances on New Year's Day, most recently netting in a 1-1 draw with Norwich City in 2024.

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert spoke to BBC Radio Solent after his side's 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.

"I keep repeating, we play every game for three points but at the same time we know it is a tough place to come and not an easy place to play," he said.

"You know if you come here they have high energy, especially at the start, and you might need to go a little bit longer.

"We've been talking about for weeks that we need impact from the bench and we had that today. I'm very happy with the players who came on.

"I think it's a good point if we get three against Millwall."

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Southampton boss Tonda Eckert said that their loss at Oxford United on boxing day was "disappointing".

The hosts took the lead thanks to a strike by Tyler Goodrham before Saints levelled prior to half time through Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Stan Mills then ran through to score a dramatic late winner and claim all three points for managerless Oxford.

"It's disappointing because we wanted to start this block of games well," Eckert said after the match.

"We lost the calmness a little bit which is something you need in games like that, it continued in the second half and was a very open game.

"We are now halfway through the season and have nowhere near the amount of points that we need.

"The positive thing is that we play again in a few days, we need to make sure we start the second half of the season well."

Southampton had claims for a penalty waved away in the first half as Leo Scienza ran through and was brought down.

Eckert's side are next in action when they play Birmingham City on 29 December at St Andrew's.

For the third successive Boxing Day Oxford United will have a different manager in charge from the one they started the season with after they sacked Gary Rowett on Tuesday.

Southampton are looking to avoid going three games without a league win for the third time this season.

• This is the first league meeting between Oxford and Southampton since April 1988, and a goalless draw in the top-flight.

• Southampton have won all four of their second-tier games against Oxford United, with these taking place between 1974 and 1976.

• Oxford have won four of their past five Boxing Day league games (L1), with all four of those victories coming in home games.

• Southampton have lost two of their past three Boxing Day league games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (W7 D4).

• Southampton have conceded 42 away league goals in 2025 so far – only once this century have they shipped more on the road in a year, conceding 54 in 2021 in the Premier League.

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Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert believes his side had "more than enough chances" to beat 10-man Coventry following their 1-1 draw at St Mary's.

He told BBC Radio Solent: "We played to win in the end, it's something that we keep emphasising with the players. We play to win and that's the most important thing.

"Today it's disappointment because I think the chances were there to come away with three points.

"I think they kept a back four for quite long after they got the red card and it was a little bit easier because we had space then on the sides to drive.

"But when they went to a back-five, it was a little bit different. I still think we got in some very promising positions. Maybe not enough personnel in the final moments but it's a good team and we managed to play the whole game in their half.

"I think there were more than enough chances to win the game in the end."

Coventry go into Saturday's game (12.30 GMT) having beaten Bristol City last weekend after a two-game winless run.

Only the Sky Blues (19) have taken more than Southampton's 18 points over the past eight Championship matches, although the Saints did suffer a 2-1 defeat by Norwich last Saturday.

• Southampton have won three of their past four league games against Coventry (D1), as many as they had in their previous 18 (D9 L6).

• Coventry have lost their past two away league games against Southampton, last losing three in a row between December 1970 and December 1972.

• Coventry have won more points (21) than any other side away from home in the Championship this season, but have failed to win either of their past two away trips in the competition (0-3 v Ipswich and 1-1 v Preston).

• Coventry's Ephron Mason-Clark has created the most chances in open play in the Championship this season (32), while team-mate Matt Grimes has created the most chances from set plays (28).

"Frank Lampard has done an outstanding job [at Coventry] and they'll come to Southampton a little bit apprehensive as well.

"They would have seen the form the guys [Southampton] are in and they'll be preparing for a tough game themselves."

BBC Radio Solent's Jono Holmes and former Saints goalkeeper Kelvin Davis reflect on what went wrong against Norwich as Southampton prepare to face one of the biggest tests in the second tier - hosting league leaders Coventry City.

Listen to the latest episode of Saints Social and more Southampton content on BBC Sounds.

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Tonda Eckert says facing Championship leaders Coventry is the perfect opportunity for Southampton to bounce back and test their own promotion credentials.

After winning six of his first seven games in charge, Eckert's side suffered a 2-1 defeat at Norwich on Saturday which left them four places and four points adrift of the play-off spots and 17 behind the table-topping Sky Blues.

"If you have big ambitions for the season you have to be disappointed with Saturday (but) it's important to clear your head," Eckert told BBC Radio Solent. "We'll be fully prepared to go big on Saturday.

"There are moments in which we need to improve. It takes a little bit of time, I know time is not always available in football and we want to be quick and implement things quickly, but I think we are heading in a good direction in general.

"Compliments to what Coventry have achieved so far, but we will be ready on Saturday.

"It's a perfect game for us. I love playing at St Mary's. We've been quite successful in our [recent] home games. We are full of energy and will be all-in."

While the play-off places remain a realistic aim with 25 games remaining, some fans are hoping Saints can mount a challenge for the top-two thanks to the momentum built since the departure of Will Still at the start of November.

Eckert was cautious about setting such a target and added: "The aim is to collect point by point.

"I have said we are ambitious and want to play for promotion this season. I don't know if I need to say we want to attack Coventry… on Saturday we will, [but] we also need to acknowledge the gap. We have some big steps to go."

Saints have scored 22 goals and conceded 11 in his eight games but Eckert says they need to find a way to sneak 1-0s to keep their promotion hopes alive, and has brought in a sport psychology firm this week to help players in set-piece phases.

"Coventry have been very efficient so far, they are rightly sitting first at the moment," he said.

"They have a variety of ways to score and though they average more than a goal a game, sometimes one goal needs to be enough to win. They have done that and it's a step we need to take.

"If you score one off a set-piece, you don't concede - three points, thank you very much, onto the next game,"

Winger Tom Fellows is ready to feature on Saturday but defender Elias Jelert may have to wait for the Oxford United game on Boxing Day while wing-back Mads Roerslev will resume training next week.

Eckert said he always has "eyes and ears open" about potential January signings but is "very happy with the squad" he currently has.

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Southampton goalscorer Ryan Manning told BBC Radio Solent after his side's 2-1 defeat at Norwich City:

"We have set such high standards over the last seven or eight games that to come out in the second half and start so poorly and let them go one up was frustrating.

"We got back in the game, you look to try to build on that and try to go for the winner but we ended up conceding again.

"It was a combination of errors in the second half that cost us today.

"Ultimately, clean sheets are vital in this league. We have been fortunate in scoring a lot recently but to score more than two goals every week is unrealistic. I think we have to start tightening that up.

"We have to start grinding out the 1-0s - they are the ones that will stand for us come the end of the season.

"There is still a lot of work to do."

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Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has won his second successive Championship manager of the month award.

The Sky Blues boss oversaw maximum points with five successive wins in November with his side currently five points clear at the top of the table.

Lampard said: "We got some fantastic results throughout November and I would like to thank all the players, staff and everyone involved for their continued hard work.

"We have a great togetherness and team spirit here and we're all looking forward to the busy Christmas period and continuing our hard work."

Birmingham's Chris Davies, Tonda Eckert of Southampton and Derby boss John Eustace were also nominated for the award.

Coventry at the double again

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Once again Coventry have cause for a double celebration with striker Ellis Simms being named the player of the month, following hot on the heels of team-mate Brandon Thomas-Asante claiming the award in October.

The 24-year-old scored five goals in his three starts in November including a brace in each of the victories over Middlesbrough and Charlton, taking his tally to eight in all competitions so far this season.

"This was only possible because of my team-mates and the staff pushing standards every day," said Simms.

"Individual awards come from team performances, and the results we've had make this extra special.

"I'll take the confidence from it and keep giving everything for the club and the fans."

Simms beat strikers Carlton Morris (Derby) and Joe Gelhardt (Hull City) plus Birmingham full-back Alex Cochrane to the award.

Norwich City will be looking to boost their Championship survival hopes when they welcome an in-form Southampton on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Canaries are five points adrift of safety and have just one win in their past 16 matches, but have improved since head coach Philippe Clement took over, with that victory and two draws from his first five league games in charge (L2).

The Saints have won six of their past seven (L1) under Tonda Eckert, climbing from 21st to ninth and are now just within a point of the play-off places.

• Norwich City have won just one of their past six league games against Southampton (D2 L3), a 2-1 win in November 2021.

• Southampton have won one of their past six league visits to Norwich (D2 L3), a 3-0 win in June 2020 in the Premier League.

• Norwich ended an eight game winless league run at Carrow Road with a 3-1 win over QPR in November. They last secured consecutive home league wins in January this year.

• Southampton are on a run of 20 away league games without a clean sheet, last registering one in a 0-0 draw at Fulham in December 2024. They last had a longer stretch without a shutout on the road between March 2009 and February 2010 (21) – which was ended by a 2-0 win at Carrow Road against Norwich.

• Southampton's Adam Armstrong has had a hand in four goals in his three league games against Norwich for the Saints (3 goals, 1 assist), assisting (November 2021) and scoring (January 2024) in his two games at Carrow Road in that run.

Southampton technical director Johannes Spors does not expect the club to be "extremely active" in the January transfer window following a busy summer of recruitment.

Saints were 21st and three points above the relegation zone when Will Still was sacked on 3 November after three straight defeats and just two wins from the opening 13 matches (D6 L5).

But they have won six of their seven games since then under Tonda Eckert, who was rewarded with the permanent head coach role on 5 December, and now sit ninth - just one point behind the play-off spots.

Southampton conducted 37 transfers in and out of the club in the wake of Premier League relegation, a squad churn that Spors has claimed contributed to Still's downfall.

"To be clear, we will not be a team in January that is extremely active in the market because we did all these changes in the summer and now it's more to support the stability," Spors told BBC South Today.

"We will have eyes and ears open but I also wanted Tonda's opinion, it's extremely important for this.

"Sometimes when you come in, you're very clear in what you see but in another three or four weeks, you might see things differently.

"So, I just wanted to make sure that Tonda has enough time to really have an opinion on every decision we have to take.

"We didn't speak about that [transfers] too much. After the Norwich and Coventry game, around that time of the year is a good moment to sit down and go more into detail."

Spors was questioned over whether they would be looking to add a goalkeeper as a priority, but the German said he "does not want to point to one specific position".

"The goalkeeper position in general, we have George Long who is here on loan, Alex McCarthy has a running out contract, I'm very happy that Gavin [Bazunu] is now again the number one and playing," Spors added.

"But it is a group where we have to look into this just because of the contract situations but nothing yet is specifically a target."

Listen to the full interview with Spors on BBC Sounds.