South Coast derby win for either side "transforms everything", adds Gary O'Neil, ahead of Portsmouth vs Southampton live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm on Tuesday; kick-off 7.45pm
Tuesday 24 September 2019 18:35, UK
Ross McCrorie has compared the South Coast derby versus Southampton to the Old Firm, and says Portsmouth and Rangers fans are "very similar".
The 21-year-old defender, on loan at Portsmouth from Rangers, sees his Sky Bet League One team host Premier League side Southampton - live on Sky Sports Football - for the first South Coast derby in seven years on Tuesday.
There will no doubt be a hostile atmosphere at Fratton Park and McCrorie, who has played in seven Old Firm matches against Celtic, revealed that he first heard about the derby from taxi drivers when he signed on loan in the summer.
"I'm sure it will be intense, it will be fierce," McCrorie told Sky Sports. "I'm sure the atmosphere will be amazing - when I first came down here, a couple of taxi drivers told me all about it straight away!
"They told me how big it was and all about the history. It's a massive game and I'm really looking forward to it.
"The Old Firm is amazing, one of the best games to ever play in, but this will be right up there as well. We can't get carried away and we need to stay level headed.
"Form goes out the window. It'll be whoever is up for it on the day, we need to win individual battles.
"We've got home advantage with all the Pompey fans there. We have their backing and I'm sure they will help us. They are very similar (to Rangers fans) in that they are very demanding.
"We want to get promoted this season and it's the same at Rangers with winning every game. It's what you want. The pressure makes you a better player and it shows you how big a club it is."
Sky Sports News also caught up with former Portsmouth midfielder Gary O'Neil, who came through the youth system at Fratton Park before spending seven years as a professional from 2000 to 2007.
His last appearances in a south coast derby came in a 4-1 win over Southampton in April 2005 and the 36-year-old said that winning the fixture "transforms everything".
Portsmouth have suffered a tough start in League One so far this season, winning just one game in seven, but O'Neil says that will count for very little when his former side face their arch rivals on Tuesday.
"It's a strange one because whatever you do for the rest of the season, on that day (of the derby) it doesn't really matter," he said.
"The fans aren't really bothered of what has gone before. If you put in a performance on that day - the last time I played, we won 4-1 at home - it transforms everything.
"There was a buzz around the place for the next few weeks and months, all off the back of that one result. It's a huge game and it will be for Southampton as well. There's so much riding on that 90 minutes.
"You feel like it's an opportunity to do something special, to give the city a real lift.
"There is definitely more pressure on the Southampton lot but inside the Portsmouth camp, they will be putting pressure on themselves. They will fancy their chances, especially with it being at home."
