Eckert: Two very different halves
Tonda Eckert was pleased with his side's reaction as Southampton picked up a hard-fought point on the road against West Bromwich Albion.
Under the lights at The Hawthorns, in front of a bouncing atmosphere from both the home side and another impressively sold-out away end, Saints started slow and fell behind to their play-off challenging hosts.
However, a much-improved second-half showing was buoyed by Sam Edozie's equalising goal - his first Saints strike in two and a half years - which levelled the scores and secured a point despite both sides having chances to win it late on.
Eckert didn't shy away from his side's unusually sluggish start, as he gave his thoughts on "two very different halves."
"In the first half we've given them a bit too much respect and I take that on me. Obviously you always try to prepare games, maybe it was a little bit too much of a quick turnaround in the way that we wanted to approach the game.
"First half it was on me and I think the second half the players were excellent. We showed what we're about, it was a great reaction, especially away from home. In the second half I think there's enough chances in there to also win the game, but if you look at 90 minutes I think you take the point, you move on, and then we need to back that up with a win on Saturday."
After sharing his delight for goalscorer Edozie's "very pleasant [moment]", Eckert looked ahead to a busy winter period to come after the international break, in which squad depth will prove key to continuing his side's positive form.
"A big one on Saturday now coming up, and then we have two weeks to prepare well and recover. It's a long block from November to March so we know how important it is to make sure that our players stay fit.
"Again, the medical department and performance department is doing everything, we're going to need the whole squad to go for big goals this season."
