'Real hatred': From Buckland boy to Portsmouth skipper - and he's relishing Southampton mission
The former Fratton Park season-ticket holder has never started a south-coast derby in his 160 Blues appearances
As a young Pompey fan, Marlon Pack marvelled at the birth of playing heroes and witnessed disturbing crowd trouble during ‘volatile’ south-coast derbies.
Now the Buckland boy is eyeing a first start against Southampton in the colours of his beloved Blues as John Mousinho’s men prepare for St Mary’s.
Last season’s 13-year wait for the bitter rivals to meet resulted in two draws, with Pack on the bench for both occasions, having recovered from injury to earn a last-minute invite.
No-one in Mousinho’s squad understands the rivalry more than the 35-year-old, who as a Fratton Park season-ticket holder was present for Yakubu’s winner in March 2004 and the Lomana Lualua-inspired 4-1 victory in April 2005.
And Pompey’s skipper is expected to be in the starting XI for Sunday’s latest instalment in south-coast derby history.
‘Obviously there’s real hatred’
Pack told The News: ‘The honours are endless if you can come away and be that hero. If you can score a goal in a derby and help your side to three points.
‘This game is more than a game, it’s the history that goes alongside it. Obviously there’s real hatred between the two teams and the two fan bases.
‘As a fan, I was there at the Lualua game, South Stand D section. The atmosphere was volatile, as you would expect at a derby, but with it being Harry Redknapp’s return as well, it was extra volatile, if you can even call it that.
‘There was the time we won 1-0 through Yakubu, when there was loads of trouble after. I was in and among that as well, you get caught up in it.
‘We walked to the game because there was no way we were driving there. We tried to walk back to Buckland, we’d normally go across Fratton bridge, and it was definitely an eye-opener and experience for sure.
‘You have to give the players an understanding of what it means and I’ll talk to them beforehand. I’ll just speak from the heart, I don’t need to write some war-time speech.
‘You have to make sure the lads have an understanding of what it means. We can approach it like any other game, but I don’t think that does the city and the fans any justice.’
Two stalemates in 2025-26
Last term, Pack returned from pre-season knee surgery in time to make the St Mary’s fixture in September 2025.
However, he was an unused substitute as the teams shared a goalless draw, with Southampton and under-fire boss Will Still booed at the final whistle.
For the corresponding fixture at Fratton Park in January, Pack returned following a two-game absence, again due to injury, and was named on the bench.
On this occasion he played the final 19 minutes and was present on pitch with Ebou Adams netted the equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
‘I definitely headed and kicked every ball on that bench’
Pack added: ‘Last season injury coincided with the potential of missing both games, but I worked really hard to make sure I was available in some capacity. Especially for the first game, the second game I was a bit more ready.
‘I definitely headed and kicked every ball on that bench. When you’re playing it becomes a lot more subconscious, you’re doing your job as such, it’s a bit more state of flow and automatic.
‘But when you are on the bench you’re playing every ball, you become a fan. At both games it was a tough watch as a player on the bench, but also as a die-hard Pompey fan.
‘I would rather be playing, it doesn’t matter what game it is, I want to be playing in every game. Of course, this one means a lot more.’
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