Kim Hellberg attended a match of his old club Hammarby in Sweden last weekend to get away from the Spygate scandal. Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg says his trust in "doing the right thing" has been restored after Southampton's expulsion from the Championship play-offs over the Spygate scandal.

Boro and Hellberg were left fuming after they caught Saints intern William Salt filming their training session 48 hours before the first leg of the sides' play-off semi-final. But with Southampton thrown out by an independent disciplinary panel, Hellberg admitted to a sense of relief that, as he sees it, footballing justice has been done as he prepares for the play-off final against Hull City on Saturday (15:30 BST).

"It's a feeling of relief, happiness, a little bit of trust in doing the right thing and humanity," he told BBC Radio Tees. "The right way to do it is working hard, not doing something else when everyone will see with the evidence and everything we know. It is quite clear what has been done and that should never be allowed in football."

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Hellberg spoke emotionally after Boro's defeat in the semi-final second leg at St Mary's about spending time away from his family to watch hours of video in the build-up to the play-offs, while he believed Southampton had cut corners in a way that challenged football's integrity.

But after a rollercoaster seven days in which he says his emotions were all over the place and included a break to his native Sweden, he was out for dinner with his young family when he found out he would be leading his team out at Wembley.

"You try to balance how much time you can give the players off but keeping them ready to come in," he said. "It was better to give them as many days off as possible and try for them to do other things, so you don't just think about it, wait for it, talk about it. But it's been very, very tough."

After a day of sorting out travel arrangements and tickets for family members, Thursday was the first clear day to focus on the task at hand against the Tigers. But Hellberg says his team will be ready, despite this chaotic and unprecedented preparation.

"There's no excuses for us," he added. "We feel we'll be ready. The game is going ahead on Saturday, that's what everyone wants. It's best for English football in general. That's what we'll do."

This video can not be played. Hellberg: 'No excuses' for Boro before play-off final. Spygate: Who is Tonda Eckert and can he keep his job? How Southampton allegedly spied on Middlesbrough.