"I’m really excited" - Portsmouth FC view given as Southampton FC suffer relegation | OneFootball

FLW's Portsmouth fan pundit has given his verdict on Southampton's relegation to the Championship

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Portsmouth face the prospect of competing against their bitter rivals Southampton next season as long as they avoid relegation to League One.

The Saints have officially been relegated following their 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The two sides will reignite the south coast derby for the first time since 2019, provided John Mousinho’s side don’t drop into the third division.

Portsmouth are currently safe from the bottom three, but the gap to the relegation zone is just three points with only a handful of fixtures remaining.

Portsmouth verdict on Southampton’s relegation

When asked about the prospect of a south coast derby next season, FLW’s Portsmouth fan pundit Miltos Ioannidis claimed he’s very excited.

He’s not surprised by Southampton’s relegation, calling the team mediocre, and is looking forward to renewing the rivalry next year.

“It’s good news if you’re a Pompey fan, yes,” Ioannidis told Football League World.

“This lot down the road have been really bad for the entirety of the campaign, and I’m really looking forward to finally coming up against this lot in the south coast derby next season.

“We haven’t had any of those in quite some time, at least in the league in the 2011/12 season.

“And I’m really excited about coming up against them again, I watched the Tottenham versus Southampton game and was obviously cheering for Spurs, the one and only time.

“I had a little bit of scare going into it that maybe Spurs were going to do the most Spurs thing ever.

“However, from essentially the start of the season I don’t think even the most optimistic Southampton fan could think they had a chance of staying up.

“Their squad is very mediocre and I don’t think they stood a chance from the very first game that they played.

“So, looking forward to coming up against them, I can’t wait.

“Hopefully, I will be able to experience a south coast derby live one day, it’s within my plans of flying over from the UK to Greece and seeing one of those live.

"So, yeah excited to come against them and hopefully get the bragging rights over them.”

Portsmouth are currently 17th in the Championship table, and can go six points clear of the relegation zone with a win on Wednesday evening against Coventry City.

South coast derby will be a welcome return to the Championship

The Championship already has the Steel City derby, and could also have the East Anglian derby return as well next year.

These rivalries will make for an exciting division, adding extra spice to an already fiercely competitive league.

Portsmouth and Southampton in particular haven’t played each other too often in the last 10 or so years, playing just once since the Saints were promoted to the Premier League in 2012.

Pompey fans in particular will be relishing the fixtures as they will have a chance to earn bragging rights after being in the shadow of their rivals over the last decade.