Tonda Eckert, 33, Unexpectedly Shakes Up Southampton and Could Spoil Wrexham's Hollywood Finale

IT is supposed to be Wrexham who have the Hollywood ending, given their glitzy owners.

Or world-renowned , for that matter.

Tonda Eckert has Southampton on a 16-game unbeaten runCredit: PA

But in a week where have beaten both those headline-grabbing sides, it is the South-Coast sleeping giants who are putting together a truly gripping season finale.

Directing it all is a young man who was not even supposed to be in charge long-term.

Tonda Eckert, who is just 33, took the Saints reins on an interim basis on November 2 following the sacking of Will Still which had left the club 21st in the Championship.

The little-known German had been temporarily promoted from his role of Under-21s head coach.

But pretty quickly Southampton realised they had unearthed a diamond and gave it to him on a permanent basis on December 5.

That came after an impressive run of four wins in five matches.

Yet that is nothing compared to what Eckert is stringing together right now.

His side have gone SIXTEEN games unbeaten, including victories over Premier League Fulham and – setting up a semi-final showdown with Manchester City at Wembley – and prompting a tilt at the Championship play-offs.

It is one of the most barn-storming streaks without defeat in the top four divisions this season – albeit still seven games off Lincoln’s storming run to League One promotion.

Tuesday night’s 5-1 win at , co-owned by famous actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, pushed Saints into the play-off positions, just six points off the automatic spots with half a dozen games to go.

What made the five-star performance particularly outstanding is it came after Saturday’s .

The trip to North Wales could have been a classic case of ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show’ but it proved anything but.

After the victory, Eckert reflected: “We had to make sure we could kickstart again after the Arsenal game. We needed to start well, which we did.”

Saints, who lest anyone forget were relegated from the Premier League with a pitiful haul of 12 points last season, look to be ending extremely well with this amazing run.

It is made all the more remarkable by the fact that this is Eckert’s first-ever head coach role.

Not to mention the unconventional experiences he had in football preceding Saints.

Eckert’s playing career was over almost before it began.

After battling Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger for a spot on the wing as a teenager at Hertha Zehlendorf, Eckert hung up his boots aged just 17.

Two years later he had moved to the University of Cologne and was working as an analyst with the German national team.

He studied Argentina for Joachim Low’s Die Mannschafter ahead of their World Cup final triumph in 2014.

His work with Germany at Euro 2012 and the World Cup two years later saw him not only work on opponents’ tactics, but also study their culture.

It was a unique approach which led to players being presented with INSTRUMENTS ahead of games.

Eckert explained: “We would bring the national instrument of Ghana and that was the way we would present to the team.

“There is more to football than X’s and O’s, more to football than just tactics. If you don’t understand the essence behind it all, then for me you’re missing the most essential part of the game.”

Eckert also worked on EA’s FIFA video games, watching local teams and advising on how players should be rated – giving him a chance to boost the numbers of some of his mates.

After being an analyst, he moved into coaching with Koln, Salzburg and Leipzig, before a stint as Miroslav Klose’s assistant at Bayern Munich’s Under-17 team, where he worked with rising star Jamal Musiala.

What came next was his first role in England as assistant to Gerhard Struber with Barnsley for two-and-a-half years, then on to Genoa in Italy, again as No2.

There he worked with an older and wiser and did his Uefa Pro Licence.

Last July he came to Saints in that reserve role before being thrust into the limelight after Still’s exit – and he has had the club shining in it ever since.

It has not been all plain-sailing though, with Eckert failing to win any of his seven league games between December 13 and January 17.

But in many ways, that bad run was the making of his team as it prompted a squad shake-up and a shift in tactics.

The Southampton hierarchy were impressed with how Eckert responded to the festive fall in form, too.

His most significant January signing was Israeli goalkeeper , while the rookie gaffer with the analyst background moved to a back four.

James Bree came back from his loan at Charlton and has excelled.

While the savvy borrowing of striker Cyle Larin from Mallorca eased the burden on the ‘Loch Ness Drogba’, Ross Stewart, whose talent is unquestioned even if his injury record is.

Brazilian Leo Scienza has been a revelation since arriving from Heidenheim in the summer and was man of the match against Arteta’s Gunners.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, , has been a rock since January, with Eckert describing him in March “as a different player now” after his recent progress.

The centre-back, 24, explained after Arsenal how the players are responding to Eckert’s level of detail, which, along with the excellent results, has sky-rocketed their confidence.

Harwood-Bellis said: “Last year, you’re getting on the bus and the feeling is so much different coming to play Arsenal, you’re a bit like, ‘it’s tough’.

“Whereas tonight we’re coming in thinking, not delusional and we know they’re qualities, but we’re like, ‘we’ve got a right chance tonight’. I think it showed by the way we played.”

Eckert’s approval ratings are high with the squad but unsurprisingly even higher with fans, given the team’s fairytale 2026.

Many like his dead-pan delivery in interviews, while a video of him slipping seamlessly from a smile when greeting Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson to game-face serious mode went viral.

They will be grinning all summer in Southampton if unlikely lad Eckert can cap his stunning debut season in management with promotion or, day we say, shock FA Cup glory.