He lined his team up in a 4-1-4-1 system with Cam Bragg as the number six, with both Flynn Downes and Caspar Jander playing ahead of him.

Saints won 2-1 thanks to goals from Downes and Kuryu Matsuki, who started on the right wing. Victor Torp netted a stoppage-time penalty for Coventry.

Eckert said that he wanted an extra man in midfield, in order to counteract a trio of Josh Eccles, Matt Grimes and Brentford loanee Frank Onyeka.

“We had an idea of how the game was going to go until minute 60, and then we just needed to have the option to open up after,” explained Eckert.

“It was important for us that we had some impact players on the bench who can bring the game in our direction, rather than right from the start.

“Coventry is quite clear that they have a heartbeat in their team that you need to control. That was the idea, to play with one more midfielder today.

“We didn’t know who plays in the middle. It was Eccles who started to move a little bit more, but they do have quality as well with Thomas-Asante.

“I wanted to have a plus one, especially with [Carl] Rushworth, who very often just goes very long and then you need to pick up second balls.

“The Middlesbrough game showed how difficult that is to defend, so we wanted a plus one in front, and one more to defend against the striker.

“If you do want to do that, then you need two more midfielders to control the other two. With the way the team was set up, that was the idea going in.

“I’m quite happy with the outcome.”

Southampton have taken the lead at the CBS Arena thanks to Flynn Downes’ quick reactions 💥 pic.twitter.com/Tde3c4zj1E

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 14, 2026

Eckert surprised some supporters with the decision to play Bragg as the deepest of the three midfielders, exposing him to several pressure situations.

He handled them superbly, while Downes offered energy further up the pitch, until he was drawn back when Bragg was replaced after 67 minutes.

“I think that they’re very different players. Flynn is the player who always comes to bounce out, who likes to play a lot of one-touch,” Eckert added.

“He always solves situations under pressure. Braggy is more the one who then opens up on his first touch and then has a big range of distribution.

“They changed a little bit in the middle of the first half, the way they pushed up. We knew that we would have some touches to play around the six.

“I wanted to have someone who has a range to open up the pitch. Then later on, I just decided that we needed some fresh legs to tie up the pitch.

“It’s a lot of running against them. You know that you have to suffer. I just wanted someone who picks up all of those second balls.

“Maybe Flynn has a little bit more physical presence, so that was the reason to bring Flynn down, but I think they both can play that position.”

Saints ended Coventry’s run of six successive wins in the Championship, having drawn 1-1 with relegation-threatened West Brom just days earlier.

“It’s a big one. We had so many questions this week coming up on why we weren’t able to beat teams in the top six this season,” said Eckert.

“I think that just fuelled us for the game today to make a statement. We’ve done this against Fulham to show that we can beat bigger teams.

“I think that’s been another statement today.”