Two former Boro players are in disagreement over the outcome of the Spygate saga, as Kim Hellberg’s side wait to see if Southampton will be booted out the Championship play-off final
Matty Hewitt Football Writer
10:28, 15 May 2026
Former Boro star Gaizka Mendieta believes the Teessiders would win the play-off final if Southampton are dumped out of the competition.(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Boro legend Gaizka Mendieta and former loanee Danny Mills disagreed over the ongoing ‘Spygate’ drama, with the Teessiders awaiting a verdict after the EFL charged the Saints with misconduct. Mendieta believes the incident will have had a huge impact on the players and is backing Boro to try and change the result.
Kim Hellberg’s side will have to wait until next week to find out what’s going to happen to the Saints, after the club allegedly found a club analyst spying on Boro’s training session ahead of the Championship play-off final first leg.
Boro claim to have support from a former Southampton member of staff who is helping them with their case against the Saints, claiming the south coast club has also spied on another second-tier rival this season.
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The Teessiders are understood to be pushing for sporting sanctions, which could result in the Saints being expelled from the play-offs, with a fresh EFL statement casting doubt about the final, suggesting the richest game in football could be rearranged.
“It’s like the AFCON drama, which is still going on,” Mendieta told PlayUK. “It was very similar. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who say that Boro will go ahead and try to change the result.
“This must be really hard for the players, in their heads they might feel like they should already be on holiday, some of them might’ve had flights booked just in case.
“Mentally it’s obviously more difficult than it is physically. Physically, players are fit. It’s about how you keep the players engaged and committed to the attention that is required for a huge game like that.
“But for now they should stay there, we don’t know for how long it will last. The faster it is sorted the better it is for Boro and for football. If they somehow make it to the final, I’d back Boro to win.”
Danny Mills spent the 2003-04 season on loan with Middlesbrough.(Image: Sunday Mercury)
However, former defender Mills, who spent the 2003-04 season on loan at the club from Leeds United, felt Boro should just get on with it, claiming the incident had little bearing on the play-off defeat.
He told Bet St George: “There is so much data out there in this day and age. Did anything dramatically change in the way they set up through being spied on? You’ve been playing the same way for 46 games. What new information can you actually learn?
“Players and coaches will always try to get an edge. We’ll always try to work out if someone in the camp can provide the team selection early. This has always happened in football; teams are often leaked through agents or family members.
“Middlesbrough’s training ground is very open. Having played there, I know you can see everything just by standing at the fence. It’s no big deal.
“I have even seen managers who, knowing other teams are watching, deliberately set up the wrong team during closed training sessions to throw off the opposition.
“Come on, it’s not going to make that much difference. There are no huge secrets in those tactics, just get on with it.”