Eckert "positive" on availability
Tonda Eckert provided an update on squad availability after addressing questions on captain Jack Stephens, Kuryu Matsuki, and the potential return of Flynn Downes ahead of Southampton's trip to Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-final.
Asked about Stephens, who has been absent since April’s clash against Bristol City, Eckert offered an optimistic update:
"I'm quite positive that we will have a squad at full strength for the game that's coming up."
Eckert was then asked whether Matsuki has been back in training, to which he gave a brief, but positive response: "Yeah."
Downes, meanwhile, could return to the squad following the suspension he picked up away at Swansea, with Eckert highlighting the midfielder’s importance.
"Yeah, it definitely doesn't hurt [to have him back]. I think Flynn, in the weeks before the suspension, had only been getting better and better game after game and obviously he'll be as fresh as you can potentially be at this part of the season and I think he'll play a big role for us."
Eckert also spoke more broadly about his approach to squad selection and planning: "We've not really looked too far ahead, but not even in the games we had over the last month. You just play your game and the best way that you think you can perform in a game.
Expanding on that point, Eckert explained how decisions are made on a game-by-game basis: "Whatever gives you the highest chance of coming away with three points, you look at the next game and sometimes you do a rotation but it's not that I look ahead many weeks and go 'on this game it's him, and this game it's him'.
"We've always put the strongest team out that we think has given us the highest chance of winning a game."
