'Disgraceful': Devastated Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg after loss to 'spygate' rivals Southampton

Boro lost 2-1 at St Mary’s Stadium after Shea Charles’ extra-time cross drifted straight in to settle a pulsating semi-final, as investigations into an allegation of spying at the Teessiders’ training ground ahead of the first leg continued.

However, amid suggestions that the Saints could be thrown out of the play-offs in they are found guilty, Hellberg was keeping his own counsel after the final whistle.

Asked if he felt that should be the case, the Boro head coach told Sky Sports: “I’m not going to make any suggestion of that or say anything about that question. I’ll talk what I think and it’s too short of a time yet to answer that question again. We will see what happens.”

Reports in the north-east have suggested Boro would continue to prepare for the final regardless of the result on the south coast in anticipation of a guilty verdict, although again Hellberg was saying little.

He said: “I haven’t planned anything for that. We had a plan if we were going to win the game; now we haven’t, so now I’m very, very disappointed about that.

“I think over two legs we were good enough to do it, but it’s small margins playing against a very, very good team, so congratulations to the players of Southampton and the fans of Southampton for the win.”

However, in his post-match press conference, the 38-year-old Swede spoke emotionally about the impact of the alleged spying as he outlined the sacrifices he has made in trying to end Middlesbrough’s nine-year exile from the top flight.

“I worked 15 years as a coach in terms of trying to get to the Premier League,” said Hellberg. “That’s my dream, for 15 years.

“I know there are clubs with bigger resources, there are teams that have more money, there are teams with bigger squads than us.

“What you have as a coach and as a group is the tactical element of the game, where we can beat opponents.”

He continued: “If we wouldn’t have caught that man that they sent up on a five-hour drive, you would sit there and say, ‘well done (to Southampton) in the tactical aspect of the game’ and I would go home and feel like I had failed.

“When someone decides, ‘nah, we’re not going to watch every game, we send someone instead and film the session’, see everything and hope they don’t get caught – I guess that’s why he was switching clothes and everything that I have seen on the television – it breaks my heart in terms of all those things I believe in.

“I think that it’s disgraceful. It makes me very sad.

“If we hadn’t caught that person, I would be sitting here thinking I should have done better things.”

Southampton have been charged with breaching EFL regulations, including one which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two sides, after Boro filed a complaint alleging unauthorised filming by someone connected to Southampton.

Saints boss Tonda Eckert was equally reticent in his post-match interview on Sky.

Asked if he was worried that his side might not get to play in the final, he replied: “We’ve had this topic in the last game as well and you can believe me, it’s not easy to speak about that.

“But it’s an ongoing investigation at this very moment and the club has made a statement, and I just can’t comment on that any further right now.

“Believe me when the time comes, I will say something, just not now.”

When it was put to him that Hellberg had accused his club of cheating, Eckert added: “I think everyone has the right to express his opinion. He has done that in his way, but it’s not for me to comment.”