South coast derby 'means everything' - Eckert

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert has said that the south coast derby "means everything" to the football club.

Saints and Portsmouth meet for the second instalment of the bitter rivalry this season on Sunday (12:00 GMT) and both will hope to be able to find a breakthrough this time after September's goalless draw at St Mary's.

Despite being permanent Saints head coach for less than two months, Eckert has been around the club since July last year as head coach of the under-21 side.

The German was in attendance at the home fixture against Portsmouth and got a taste for the hatred between the two rivals.

"It means everything," Eckert told BBC Sport. "I was here for the game earlier in the season and you can feel this as you walk through the stadium.

"You can feel it leading up to the game and these games just feel different. We will need to use this energy and fuel and transfer it to the pitch."

Southampton go into the encounter having ended a winless run of seven Championship games by beating Sheffield United 1-0 on Wednesday.

They currently sit 15th in the table but in a congested and competitive area, seven points off the top six.

Portsmouth have struggled this season and are 21st in the division but have picked up some better form recently, winning 12 points from their past seven league matches.

"It's a special game for both sides and we have to make sure we bring our quality," Eckert added.

"The derby is the most beautiful and important game of the year and there will be moments where we need to dig very deep.

"There will also hopefully be some moments where we can keep the ball on the ground and bring the talent we have on the pitch, and I'm very positive that we can come away with a good result."