Southampton v Portsmouth: St Mary's boss enlists extra help to spell out importance of south-coast derby
All eyes will be on St Mary’s on Sunday as Pompey and Southampton contest the south coast derby for the first time since 2019
Will Still has revealed Southampton have turned to a number of former players to ram home the importance of the south-coast derby.
At the same time, the Saints boss has also called on his squad to remain disciplined as they prepare to welcome fierce rivals Pompey to St Mary’s on Sunday
For Still, the Southampton boss is still adapting to life at St Mary’s following his summer appointment. But he isn’t the only person getting used to his new surroundings, with nine new faces arriving during the transfer window.
As a result, the former Lens boss has enlisted the help of some former Saints favourites to spell out the importance of the game to his host of new signings.
Southampton’s unique Pompey preparation
Speaking to the Southampton Daily Echo, he said: ‘I think with the help of the people at the club, we've set up various things so that the players understand what it means.
‘We've got ex-players coming in, we've got people coming to paint the picture of what this is, what it means to everyone, but also for the newcomers in the club and in the league.
‘I think we're putting the right things in the right place to make sure everyone gets it. It means more to the supporters, but it's got to mean more to us as a team as well.
‘We can't just accept conceding goals, we can't just accept that we draw games, that's not the standard that we want to work to.
‘We want to stop conceding these poor, rubbish goals that we've conceded in the first couple of games. So it's a good moment to play a derby; it needs to mean something extra.
‘It needs to mean a bit more, we know that. Hopefully, the players are all fully aware of where we're going and what this means this weekend.’
Will Still’s Southampton call
Southampton have had a mixed start to their latest Championship campaign, sitting two points and five places behind Pompey going into the derby.
A win is important - not just for the bragging rights, but also their standing in the division and confidence, with victory against Wrexham on day one of the new campaign their only league success to date.
However, in order to claim the three points on offer, Still believes discipline against Pompey will be needed.
‘It (getting the balance right) is vital. There's no point charging into them and getting two players sent off within the first five or ten minutes.
‘We're all fully aware of the discipline that we also need to have when we're being aggressive and when we're trying to do the things that we want to do.
‘That's just part of it, and that's why we love this sort of game, that's why we want to play them. It builds you up to that, and whoever can deal with that best will probably win the game.’