Hellberg condemns Southampton’s alleged “Spygate” cheating after Championship playoff win

Middlesbrough will face Hull in Saturday’s final after being reinstated at the expense of Southampton

There needs to be a zero-tolerance approach to stealing other clubs’ secrets – Kim Hellberg’s emotional response shows just how deep this goesKim Hellberg was clearly upset and his press conference after Middlesbrough’s defeat at Southampton in the Championship semi‑final playoff second leg became unexpectedly moving as a result. In football, the Boro manager said, you accept that some teams have greater resources than others but where the coach of the less well-off team can gain an advantage is in the “tactical element”; it is in effect the only weapon he has. And if that weapon is made less effective by an opponent cheating, it is understandable that Hellberg should feel that his profession, the skillset he has developed to test himself against his peers, has been betrayed.That disgust is, no doubt, genuine enough, and it is perhaps difficult for those of us who do not work in that world fully to grasp how frustrating it must be if strategies and ploys carefully conceived and practised are rendered ineffective, not by the in-game acuity of an opponent, but by espionage. But it is admittedly hard to square that righteous anger with the image published in the Mail this week of a sheepish young man lurking behind a tree with a phone. Continue reading...

Southampton downed Middlesbrough in their play-off semi-final amid the spying accusations levelled at the Saints - prompting an emotional response from Boro boss Kim Hellberg

Middlesbrough coach accuses rivals of ‘disgraceful’ actEckert insists Saints are taking allegations ‘very seriously’Southampton’s head coach, Tonda Eckert, insisted the club are taking allegations of cheating “very seriously” after they advanced to the Championship playoff final against Hull at Middlesbrough’s expense amid the backdrop of so-called spygate. Shea Charles’s 116th-minute cross-shot sealed victory in extra time to earn a place in the Wembley showpiece on 23 May, but Southampton face the prospect of punishment from an independent disciplinary commission after being charged with breaching two counts of the English Football League’s regulations.A visibly emotional Kim Hellberg accused Southampton of “disgraceful” behaviour after Middlesbrough’s defeat at St Mary’s as tensions escalated. The head coach reiterated that Boro believe a financial punishment would be inadequate. At one point, after Luke Ayling reported a discriminatory comment made by Southampton’s captain, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Eckert appeared to agitate towards Hellberg on the touchline, only to be separated by the fourth official, Tom Nield, though afterwards Hellberg played down the incident between the head coaches. Continue reading...

Following their play-off semi-final defeat to Southampton, Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg shares a passionate answer on the alleged 'spygate' drama that's surrounded the fixture.

Boro manager Kim Hellberg has a training plan 'for every day up to the final' regardless of the result of Tuesday's semi-final second leg