That's it from tonight's BBC Radio Solent Fans' Forum.

You can watch again on the video link above.

The season kicks off on Saturday with the League Cup first round fixture away at Colchester.

You can hear every Saints match throughout the season on BBC Radio Solent.

A fan asks what could they expect to happen if manager Tonda Eckert is banned by the FA over spygate.

The 33-year-old was charged with misconduct by the FA for authorising the observation of rival training sessions.

Johannes Spors said there were "so many uncertainties" as the club awaited the verdict.

He added: "We have ideas in mind - we look at different scenarios but nothing concrete at the moment.

"If there is something we have to deal with it, we’ll deal with it. I still hope for a positive outcome."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A fan asks whether the club can keep the key players in the team for next season.

Johannes Spors, the club's technical director said he was "confident that we can keep a very strong team together".

But he admitted there would be a need to get the "correct size of a squad" and have players in the "right role".

He said the club would "reduce the general size of the squad from today definitely."

Image source, Getty Images

Eckert reflects on last season and encourages fans that there is more to come.

He said he understands that it feels like "a page has been ripped out of the book" of the club after last season but he believes "the next chapter will take longer".

He said: "There is much more to come and I just hope that we will be sitting here in 12 months and talking about the Premier League and I can only tell you that I will do everything to make you proud.

"I think we had some proud moments last season and I will do everything to continue that," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Sporting director Johannes Spors gave his view on the departure of Ross Stewart.

Swansea City signed free agent Stewart on a three-year contract after he left the Saints in June after failing to agree a new contract.

"He was in a situation he wanted to look into other options.

"In the end he decided not to continue with us. I really wanted every player to be 100% committed to going with us," Said Spors.

Image source, Getty Images

A fan asks why season ticket prices went up after last season.

Phil Parsons pointed to the investment in the stadium over the years and said he had "spoken to a lot of fans and they feel like it's acceptable, it's fair and some people don't think it's fair.

"You never please everybody."

He said the club tried to balance what was best for the football club and" fairest for the fans".

The new 2026-27 season Saints kit comes up for debate.

“I'd like to go back to tradition for the older generation - let's get the stripes back on the back [of the home shirt]," says one fan

Phil Parsons explained that Premier League rules means clubs can’t have stripes on the back of shirts.

"We have to have a box to see the number.

“We’ve listened to the fans - we’ve done our best to remember the history of this place,” he added.

Image source, Southampton FC

Image source, Getty Images

A fan asks Parsons what the long-term plans are for the club.

He said the number one goal was to get back into the Premier League in the short-term, with "a lot of real-estate projects" around the stadium being discussed at the moment.

He emphasises the importance of revenue for the club so that they can sign players.

He said there were "more plans in the background than there ever have been for this football club".

Image source, Getty Images

A supporter addresses Parsons and says that the club has been "very quiet" and "eaten alive" by the reaction from Middlesborough to the spying allegations.

Parsons said they had advice about what they could and could not say because of the legal situation and they gave as much information as they could.

"We essentially lost a legal battle and we lost an appeal," he said.

"I'm not sure what more I can give on that topic."

Image source, Getty Images

A supporter addressed the "elephant in the room" and asked if Tonda is "sacrificial lamb", and were there other scouting missions?

Chief executive Phil Parsons disagrees with the fan's suggestion that the club has "hung Eckert out to dry".

The fan asked whether there was any other allegations of spying that could come out of the woodwork.

Parsons said "we have to stay focussed... there is nothing more when it comes to allegations on sypying."

There is a round of applause in memory of the late Kevin Keegan who died last month at the age of 75.

One fan paid tribute to the former England captain who joined Saints in 1980, playing under Lawrie McMenemy.

"He meant so much during his time here at Southampton," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Tonda Eckert is asked how important is it that the players are positive following the spygate scandal.

He said: "The realty is that going into the summer is probably one of the toughest weeks for everyone in the room."

He admitted the reaction could have been a lot different given how the season ended but he said the support from fans "means a lot" to him.

"We have a core group that is committed to representing this football club again."

Image source, Getty Images

It was a controversial end to the season for Saints after they were booted out of the Championship play-off final for spying.

The team had finished the campaign strongly, going unbeaten in 18 league games. They also made it to the semi-final of the FA Cup, losing to 2-1 Manchester City at Wembley.

They then won the Championship play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough however it later emerged that Southampton had filmed Boro's training session ahead of the first leg tie.

An investigation by the English Football League (EFL) eventually found Saints also watched training sessions involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town - breaching EFL regulations.

A very good evening from St Mary's Stadium where BBC Radio Solent are hosting their annual Southampton FC Fans' Forum.

We will be getting underway very shortly, with tonight's top table consisting of head coach Tonda Eckert, sporting director Johannes Spors and CEO Phil Parsons.

BBC Radio Solent's Southampton FC commentator Adam Blackmore will be getting things underway very shortly from the Mick Channon Suite.

• Watch the 2026 BBC Radio Solent Southampton FC Fans' Forum live on the BBC Sport website and app.
• Adam Blackmore hosts the forum in the Mick Channon Suite at St Mary's Stadium alongside head coach Tonda Eckert, sporting director Johannes Spors and CEO Phil Parsons.
• Tune into the forum live from 18:00 BST for the hour-long show.