Second time Eccles has to give ground (6)
I believe the answer is:
motive
'ground' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'second time eccles has' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 'mo' (both are short periods of time).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'eccles has' becomes 'I've' (where the crossword setter is 'Eccles').
'mo'+'t'+'ive'='MOTIVE'
'to give' is the link.
(Other definitions for motive that I've seen before include "Reason behind an action" , "Reason for doing something, say murder" , "Inspiration" , "Ground" , "What induces one to take a certain action" .)