A few facts about Southampton’s unbeaten run: - It lasted for 135 days - It set a club record unbeaten run (all comps) - If set a club record for an unbeaten run in the Football League - It set a club record unbeaten away run - It saw us win 11 straight games at home - It saw us take 82% of points on offer - It saw us win more league games than the previous two seasons combined - It saw us goalless 0 times - It saw us score 2.24 goals per game - It saw 14 different goalscorers - It saw us concede 0.68 goals per game - It saw us score 3 9 times - It saw some brilliant goals scored - It saw us secure 11 clean sheets - It saw us concede 2 goals just twice - It saw us rise from 15th to 2nd - It saw us put things into our own hands - It united a fanbase - It changed the mood of the season - It created a formidable team - It saw individual players grow immeasurably - It saw academy talent given a chance to shine - It made us forget last season - It made another “I was there” moment - It saw sellouts at St Mary’s - It saw sellouts away from home - It showed us that we’ve got a top manager and top players to be proud of We are very much on the up #SaintsFC

Remarkable start to the window for Saints. Didn’t think it would be possible but hats off 👏#SaintsFC

Oof, that really WILL have rubbed SALT into their wounds #SaintsFC

Had thought Tonda Eckert was, on the face of it, an admirably calm and composed presence and a huge asset to Saints given how his team were able to win games in different ways this season. Reading about pressure on interns is truly grim though - Eckert himself, starting as an analyst, would have been in Will Salt’s position once and has clearly not thought about how he would’ve wanted to be treated if the current roles were reversed. The German clearly has a clever football brain, but going to the lengths he has to try and win - messing with club’s future and getting someone dispensable to do your dirty work - is truly unforgivable #SaintsFC

Can’t say I’m surprised about the result tonight - would’ve been a very strange atmosphere had we played on Saturday. It’s a depressing low point in the club’s history - we’ve had too many of those in recent times. Some thoughts: - Full internal investigation needed and transparency for supporters, those responsible gone - This is the action of a small group. I want people to remember there are many hundreds of totally innocent loyal, hard-working employees/people linked to the club who will be embarrassed and distraught right now. Jobs will be at risk too - Once again, our fans will remain and, given the rollercoaster of emotions we get put through, we have some of the most loyal out there. No doubt - Imagine Solak is fuming, his faith and investment has been thrown back in his face. Imagine patience is running fairly thin - Players have every right to react however they want to and we should expect an ugly summer. There’s some excellent players that I was hoping we could build with but that will be unlikely now, and that’s a huge shame - 10x more transparency/communication from owners needed. Many want them out now (totally understandable), but I want them to sort this mess out themselves and show us a plan for the future. How are you learning from previous failings and how can we trust you from here? - Hoping Will Salt is receiving any support he needs. He’s become the face of someone else’s dirty work and that’s horrendous - 2nd season in Championship will see a big drop in financial power. I don’t know what next season will hold as a result, but all decisions this summer must be good ones to at least stabilise things. Many won’t trust those in charge to get it right - If you don’t agree with this/parts of this, that’s fine. It’s your club too and you’re welcome to react in whatever way you see fit, including any protests. The fans have taken the brunt of this situation - All the best to Middlesbrough/Hull. Looking at that game as a neutral now, it’ll be good for the English game to see one of those teams having a crack at the PL - Lastly, enjoy the summer and try to take your mind away from this. I know how much this club means to me and others, but we will have a football club to follow next season, and there’s a lot more to life than this sport I can tell you #SaintsFC

Will just say this. As Southampton fans, we know full well we aren’t allowed to have something nice for a long period of time. Can’t believe we didn’t see this shitstorm coming tbh #SaintsFC

Well, thought it was legitimately a great rebuild job and nothing dodgy. Club now deserve everything that comes their way, including some pissed off players leaving this summer. It will knock the club back hugely, but they’ve only got themselves to blame #SaintsFC

A few ramblings on Spygate: - Firstly, it’s embarrassing and, if I’m honest, has put a cloud over yesterday’s win and a brilliant playoff tie in my mind, along with several other things around the game. I expect better of my club all round - Do I think the “spying” benefitted us vs Middlesbrough? No, Boro were the better team in 1st leg and we were better in the 2nd leg, winning with a fortunate goal, that’s football. I think the build-up affected us negatively in 1st leg too. No evidence of “professional surveillance equipment” either - It’s frustrating that Saints or one individual have felt the need to do it. They’ve proven they are absolutely good enough without doing this - Either the intern has done this themselves through desperation to succeed or has been told to do this by a senior member of staff because he, as an intern, is dispensable (incredibly poor if true and intern then gets thrown under the bus). Either way, it needs to make Saints look deeply at working practices - Media coverage today and publishing a name is equally as poor as the incident itself. Give a name once an investigation is complete, particularly if it’s a young intern at the centre of this. He’s human at the end of the day, but it seems The Daily Mail don’t see that quality in many people. The image itself would have sufficed surely? Everyone has a Duty of Care in this situation to not make the intern himself a target for abuse, particularly if he’s been told to do this by someone else - we won’t know that until the investigation is complete - Hopefully this incident helps Middlesbrough improve security and visibility at their training ground. It seems any member of the public could have gained info by watching where the intern was and that’s quite unbelievable - Final, wider reaching point is that football can stop these desperate moves by levelling the playing field between PL and FL. The gap is insane and unsustainable, and Saints will have decided to do something like this because they know how important financially it is to win and go back up. If we stay down, we will be reliant on player sales and cost cutting. When teams drop down from the PL (like we’ve seen with Saints), their first year down gives them a huge budget to chuck at getting back up, and that puts other teams at a disadvantage. As a general football fan, I don’t want to see the same teams jumping up and down between the leagues all the time - teams like Middlesbrough do deserve a chance to break through the current glass ceiling #SaintsFC

The guy is insane. I think we have to get promotion to keep key players and manager together, and I back us to do it #SaintsFC

This team is really special. Very rare to get a whole squad to buy in completely in what you’re doing, but they are. But take Archer as an example - he could be 1st choice elsewhere in this league, but he’s waited for a chance and given us a priceless week 👏 #SaintsFC

“Tonda, how quickly did your side get back to business after beating Arsenal?” #SaintsFC

- Quality competition for places - Ability to rotate doesn’t affect performances - Consistency in league cup - Tactical adaptability (direct vs Arsenal, more intricate tonight) - Goals across the team - A top GK - Ruthless streak All in one team. Quite remarkable #SaintsFC

Says a lot about what Tonda Eckert is building when he makes multiple changes, including a new forward line, and things still look this good. So much hunger in the squad and clearly a very healthy atmosphere #SaintsFC

Coventry will go up and deserve to, and we had to ride our luck at the end. But that was an outstanding game and superb from Saints. Hats off to everyone 👏 Will be tough getting that level of performance consistently from here, but somehow we need to keep it #SaintsFC

Daniel Peretz has been some find by Saints. One of the best (if not the best) all-round goalkeepers I can remember watching play for us. Very good with his feet, some excellent reflex saves and always alert off his line. Importantly, seems a great communicator too #SaintsFC

Body language similar to Still’s time in charge. It’s time for a change of system, at least to just try something. Move Fellows further forward, Jelert as the RB and back four #SaintsFC

Would’ve been a good point for Saints vs 11, but does feel like a missed opportunity. Felt the play was slow, and unnecessary passes in build-up - e.g. play straight to the full-back in space rather than playing around the whole defence. Onwards and upwards though #SaintsFC

What is Lampard doing man. Your team defended brilliantly there - that should be good enough for you. No need for the reaction at the end #SaintsFC

Do think Eckert needs to find a way to leave one of Scienza or Fellows on longer eventually. Clearly important to keep them fit and fresh, but their running is the main out ball we have atm - hence why we struggled a lot in the 2nd half. Both really are key #SaintsFC

Southampton just over five weeks ago: Three points outside the bottom three Southampton as I post: In the top six Absolutely Tondaful stuff #SaintsFC

The turnaround from Saints has been quite insane. Initially, I thought our summer signings were below par. Now I think that Scienza, Fellows, Azaz and Jander could even do a job up a level #SaintsFC