SportFootballSouthampton FCSouthampton fans are rightly worried about both the short and long-term future of their club with the ramifications of Spygate only just beginning18:00, 21 May 2026Football can test your patience at the best of times. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a worse time to be a supporter of a club than it is for Southampton fans right at this present moment.‌If it were just a case of drawing a line under this whole Spygate debacle and getting on with our lives then it would be a bitter pill to swallow, yes, but one we could stomach. But this stain on our club won’t be one that washes out easily.‌I’m already dreading the next time someone asks who I support. “Ah, the cheats eh.” Yep, that’s the one.‌We’d just got to a point where we were restoring pride at a club that’d had been battered and bruised and sorely lacked togetherness. But even that was built on false pretences.This can of worms has only just started to crack open with fires set to be fought from both inside and out. I dread to think what will be left behind once they’ve been extinguished.READ MORE: Spygate latest: FA open Southampton investigation with Hull furious over play-off finalREAD MORE: Spygate takes new twist as Millwall and Wrexham 'weigh up legal action' against SouthamptonCan hardly blame the players, many of whom have proved they’re a class above in front of the world against Arsenal and Man City, for looking at their exit routes. And while they will inevitably depart, it’s tough at this point to understand why anyone would want to fill their boots this summer.‌Perspective is important and there are plenty of football fans who were left with no club to support. The Burys, the Macclesfield Towns.I don’t want to support mine right now. But I have to. That’s what you sign up for. By God have Southampton Football Club made it difficult.‌Until all the necessary heads have rolled, supporters won’t be able to dust themselves down and get behind the club like they always do. What I do know is that in five, 10, 15 years' time, the fans will be here. Those in the dressing room and the boardroom won’t be.For now, and the foreseeable future, though, it’s us who will suffer. The enduring embarrassment of the cheats tag being superglued to us. The heartache of being so close to the Premier League promised land once again. Anything positive being wiped away and no hope of that changing any time soon.As I’ve watched Arsenal and Aston Villa fans celebrating their trophies this week, all I could think was how their clubs aren’t tarnished like mine. Those joyous scenes are what football is all about. This mess at St Mary’s is anything but.Article continues belowAlas, I’ll be there. Even if I don’t want to be right now.JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook pageDan BurnhamDan Burnham is a Senior Reporter and Content Editor for Reach plc's Sports Hub. Dan covers news and features from across the sporting world for our national and regional titles. The Southampton FC sufferer joined the company in 2021, initially on a freelance basis before going full-time on the Daily Star.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Southampton FCMiddlesbrough FCChampionship play-offs