Heartbroken Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg was left fighting back tears after his side were beaten by Southampton in the Championship play-off semi-final on Tuesday amid allegations of spying
A heartbroken Kim Hellberg insisted his Premier League “dream” had been snatched from him after Middlesbrough were defeated by Southampton in their play-off semi-final against the backdrop of spying allegations.
Following a goalless draw in the opening leg on Saturday, Shea Charles netted a 116th-minute winner to secure the Saints a 2-1 aggregate victory and they’ve now turned their attention to the play-off final at Wembley on Saturday, May 23.
However, it’s alleged a Southampton staff member was discovered attempting to spy on a Middlesbrough training session last Thursday prior to the match at the Riverside Stadium, leaving a tearful Hellberg disgusted that his coaching impact was potentially compromised by the opposing side.
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Hellberg, who arrived mid-season to replace Rob Edwards, revealed he’d been working for 15 years to reach the Premier League, but must now come to terms with falling just short.
Discussing his personal accountability, the emotional Boro chief said: “What I could control was the tactical aspect of the game or helping my players more.
“When you have done that and, for a week or two weeks up to this game, put every second away from your family to watch Southampton every game you can to try to gain the advantage that we can actually get.
“If we wouldn’t have caught that man they sent up on a five-hour drive, you would sit there and say, well done, maybe, in the tactical aspect of the game and I would go home and feel like I had failed in that aspect I had to help my players with.
“When that is taken away from you in that way, when someone decides: ‘No, we’re not going to watch every game. We’ll send someone instead and film the session and see everything and hope we don’t get caught’. I guess that was why they were switching clothes and all those things.
“It breaks my heart in terms of all those things I believe in. That’s the thing. I don’t care if there are other rules in different countries. This is England where football is the biggest thing. That’s my feelings about it. I think it’s disgraceful. It makes me very sad.”
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert stormed out of a press conference at the weekend while facing questions about the SpyGate scandal and pulled the same stunt following the Saints’ victory on Tuesday.
Eckert has been left to take questions regarding the club’s alleged conduct and showed no desire to discuss the matter any further. The second question of the press conference was: “Are you a cheat?” – but received no response. The press officer who accompanied him told the journalist in question to “show some respect”.
Southampton, who suffered relegation last season, will meet Hull in the play-off final after they shocked Millwall on Monday night. Nevertheless, Middlesbrough are still making preparations for a Wembley final themselves, with all sporting sanctions remaining on the table for the Saints – including forfeiting the semi-final.
However, the SpyGate was an amusing cloud over the club to many Saints fans who turned up at St Mary’s wearing camouflage outfits and carrying binoculars.