Chris Waddle Backs Boro for Wembley Glory, Southampton Lucky and the EFL's Teams to Watch"

England football hero Chris Waddle has backed Middlesbrough to beat Hull City in the Championship play-off final, and believes Southampton escaped lightly after their spygate scandal.

Speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports , the former Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur star also gave his views on the EFL clubs with the most to look forward to next season.

Championship Play-Offs

Southampton Verdict

What surprised me about Southampton was that they admitted to doing it two or three times to different teams, and you think, why would you admit to spying? I think they've got off lightly, really. You're not going to the final, and you're getting deducted four points. Wow, what a punishment. Sure, it's probably cost them £80 million by missing out on the Premier League . I'm sure there are more teams than Southampton that do it, but I don't get why you would even spy on a team, because you can get everything now digitally. You can watch all the matches every team plays. You can look at stats on all their players, most touches, who does this, who does that, who does what in certain areas of the pitch. Why would you go and hide in the bushes when you can just open an app? I don't get why they've done that.

I know it was before the game, playing in a semi-final to get into the play-off final, to look at how Middlesbrough were setting up, but I don't get it. To me, you've got a good team. You look at the basics. You look at what they do at set pieces. You can already figure out who their key players are. Every team has that information now.

To come out and admit you've been spying on Middlesbrough is a bit of a joke, but it's cost them, and it's so hard to believe they decided that was ever worth the risk when you've got all these things available at your fingertips these days. It's an absolutely incredible story. I'm sure somebody at Netflix is already writing up the documentary about it.

Playoff Final Prediction

Hull City have had an amazing season. I've watched them a few times, and they've got a lot of good and experienced footballers, and that should put them in good stead for a big game like the play-off final.

But I think, given that Middlesbrough were knocked out by Southampton , they may as well have had another five days' rest. I don't think they'll even have time to think about the game, so I'm going to go with Middlesbrough to win it. The team who got knocked out in the play-offs to win the play-off final — that's another documentary Netflix need to make.

I watched Middlesbrough against Southampton . They are a very good football team. They play on the front foot. They do tire after 70 minutes, but I think they'll have a little bit too much in their legs for Hull City .

Bradford

Can Bradford Bounce-Back?

I think Bradford City came out of the blocks very quickly this season, and I think they've had a great season. Everybody needs a pat on the back. But now it's about who you can bring in to strengthen the team this summer.

You know, they've got the most out of that squad this season and had a few loans, and that's going to be the key again. If they get three good loans in who can make the side strong and better again, but it also depends on who is staying. If they have another season like that, they'll have done really well. I think they'll come away a little bit bruised this season, but if they can get in the play-offs again, what a great season that would be.

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday

I live in Sheffield, I read the local papers, and Sheffield Wednesday are being linked with players A, B, C, D, E, F and G at the moment. They need to sign players who can not only play League One football, but make sure they're a good enough unit to compete back in the Championship . They need to be able to carry on if they do go straight back up, which is what everybody's thinking or hoping they will do next season.

They need to build a team that can get back up into the Championship , but then keep going rather than end up in the bottom half just trying to survive. Look at Wrexham . They bought players to get out of every division, and this year they've come so close to the play-offs. Wednesday need to find the players capable of doing that for them. It'll be interesting to see how they develop as a team this season. Will he get more young players in? Wednesday also need to look at people they can bring in now who've done it all before, like what Cardiff have done to come straight back up.

Wednesday need a lot of new players. They've got a list of people who are staying, and they've got the youngsters, but they need that experience. Let's be honest, they need everything. They need a 10. They need a seven. They need a nine. They need a lot of players. If they want to get out of the division next season, the fan base is there, ready to go. There will be more pressure on Henrik Pedersen next year, because it was like a free hit this season. It's going to be different. After the first four, five, six games, he's going to be judged, and if they're not in the top six, then people will start asking questions.

It's going to need a different mentality next season. Wednesday have got to come out of the blocks very quickly. But they need a good 15 to 20 players this summer. Could they look at bringing back Barry Bannan or Jamie Vardy ? Listen, Barry's been a great servant to Wednesday . There's talk of him coming back, and there's been talk of Jamie Vardy . You could have a team of 40-year-olds at this rate. I could see Barry coming back as a player-coach, but let's be honest, if they're serious about getting out of League One and doing well in the Championship , if they go up, they need to get in players of a good age, from good stables, and they need to build a side to compete at a higher level.

I don't want to hear excuses that everybody was on their way out, or that they've signed 15 players this season to play in League One who they'll have to get rid of next summer if they're going to play in the Championship . It doesn't work, football-wise. Wednesday have to start building now with the idea that if they do go up, they can compete in the Championship by adding two or three players, not another 10.

Manager Talk

Did Michael O'Neill Make The Right Move?

Michael O'Neill turned Blackburn Rovers around this season, got them fighting and looking organised, and as we saw, they finished the season pretty well. They didn't score a lot of goals, but they were very compact, very hard to beat, and that's what was needed in a relegation battle, and he got them out of it.

But where are Blackburn going to go next? There's probably more players to leave. What is the budget? Are they actually looking to get back into the Premier League , where they were all those years ago? I don't know if they are. I don't know if they've got the money to spend. They're sailing along without, let's be honest, any ambition. It's all been about staying in the Championship , and I think he's made the right decision.

Can Heckingbottom Get Preston Promoted Next Season?

I think Paul Heckingbottom is a very good manager, a very good coach, and a very good fit for Celtic . I think he's very underrated. He's done a great job at Preston North End , working with a really small budget. He gets good loans in, and the way he plays gets the most out of his players. If he could bring in three or four good players, he could take Preston into the play-offs quite easily, but will he be allowed to do that? I think he'll eventually end up getting the sack because the club will think they're not going anywhere, but you can only go as far as your budget allows, and let's be honest, Preston 's budget is not massive.

There'll be a lot of clubs watching how things develop. He's done a good job at Preston , and there'll be other clubs interested. Celtic should be looking at him because he works with a small budget, gets good players in, and gets the most out of his squad. I think he plays nice football, too. Preston are well-organised, well-drilled, and he's an open-minded coach. I think he could do well at a bigger club, but I'm not saying he should leave Preston . Preston just need to let him bring in three or four really good players for that level, and I think they would be a team that makes it into the play-offs next season.

Richie Wellens

Richie Wellens did a great job the year before. Leyton Orient scored a lot of goals and got to the play-off final, so they were likely always going to underachieve this season. Last season, everything clicked. Confidence was high. The team had the belief they'd follow it up the following season, much like how Bradford City must be feeling at the moment.

But then you lose a couple of players, you lose your main goalscorer, and all of a sudden, the older players are another year older. You might have to replace them with someone younger, but it's not the same. They don't have the experience. It's very difficult. At this level, two players can make one hell of a difference, and when you lose those players, it gets harder. I think they've got to stick with him. What's the ambition for Orient ? Do they actually think they're a Championship side? They don't get massive crowds. Even keeping them in the top half of the league is a great achievement.

Mickey Mellon

Micky Mellon is doing good work at Oldham Athletic . You look at Bromley last year — they came up, had a good season, finished mid-table. They won a lot, drew a lot, and obviously lost a few too. But they were smart with the players they brought in.

There are hundreds of players released every year, and if you can get the right three or four in on a free, and some good players on loan, there's no reason why you can't kick on. Oldham had a hard season coming up from the Conference. It's never easy, and there's been a lot of turnover, but Oldham is a good, well-run club. They've been up and down the divisions. They know what it takes.

If they can get three or four of the right players in this summer on frees or on loan, then Oldham , given the size of the club, should be in the play-offs next season at the very least.

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