Southampton group technical director Johannes Spors said the Spygate scandal left him in a difficult position over the summer as the club prepared for the new season amid uncertainty over a possible FA sanction for head coach Tonda Eckert. Southampton eventually kept Eckert, and the side are eighth in the Championship after 11 matches.
Uncertainty over the summer
Spors told BBC Radio Solent: "Of course, it did put me into a difficult position."
He added: "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."
In May, Southampton were kicked out of the play-offs and deducted four points for admitting they spied on three clubs during the Championship season. Eckert's future was then put into question during an FA investigation that could have seen him handed a ban that might have cost him his job.
Southampton's decision to keep Eckert
Spors said: "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."
Southampton decided to keep Eckert after he admitted to his mistakes in May, as owner Dragan Solak and the rest of the board gave him a second chance. In early October, the FA announced that Eckert would be fined £28,000 and that a six-week ban would be suspended until the end of next season.
Spors on supporting Eckert
Spors said: "That was something I really focused a lot in the summer, to support him as much as I could."
He added: "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."
He added: "I just wanted to make sure that he's OK as a human being. I helped him with everything I can with my knowledge, my expertise, but also my friendship."
He added: "I made sure that there are even more people around him who helped him, who have more expertise in certain things than I have and are specialists in areas that he needed help and support over the whole summer."
Relationship and current form
Spors said: "We have known each other for nearly 10 years."
He said: "Our relationship is close, we speak to each other nearly every day and support each other, we can also have hard discussions behind closed doors, where we challenge each other and I think that's as important as the support."
Spors was appointed Southampton's group technical director in February 2025. Southampton have the best home record in the league, unbeaten with five wins and one draw at St Mary's.