Portsmouth hero tears into Southampton over ’embarrassing’ scenes – ‘Disgraceful’
Portsmouth’s fierce rivals Southampton have had a season to forget after their relegation from the Premier League.
The two South Coast sides have had contrasting seasons since their promotion last term.
Portsmouth secured their Championship survival on Easter Monday after Colby Bishop scored the winner against Watford. It was a brilliant turnaround in form from Pompey, who didn’t win any of their first nine Championship games.
However, it was a different story for Southampton after their playoff victory last term. The Saints have become the quickest-ever team to be relegated from the Premier League in a terrible display.
Now, after the side was seen celebrating their 1-1 draw against West Ham last weekend, former Portsmouth star Jamie O’Hara has called the scenes “embarrassing”.
Jamie O’Hara blasts ‘disgraceful’ Southampton celebrations
Despite sacking two managers this season, the Saints have not managed to turn their fortunes around.
With Simon Rusk now in charge until the end of the season, the interim manager’s task is to ensure that the club does not go down with the worst record in Premier League history.
Derby County has held the record since the 2007/08 campaign when they went down with 11 points, and after the weekend’s result, the Saints have now matched this.
This caused celebrations from Southampton who now just need one point in their last five games to overtake the Rams’ terrible tally.
However, O’Hara was less than impressed with the celebrations and quickly called them out.
He told Sky Sports (24 April): “They were celebrating like they won the Premier League, honestly it was embarrassing. They’ve got 11 points!
“Fair play to them, you don’t want to be the worst team ever but they’ve still got to get one more point because they’re the joint worst team ever with Derby. They’re celebrating like they’ve done something.
“They have been absolutely disgraceful this season, an absolute joke. Listen, they’ve found a point from somewhere, but come on 11 points.”
Portsmouth must end terrible record v Southampton in 25/26 Championship
One big positive about the upcoming campaign is that Portsmouth finally have a chance to beat the Saints once again.
The two clubs have not met since 2019, which ended in a 4-0 victory for Southampton in the League Cup.
Now, the 2025/26 campaign will be the first time the two clubs have met in the league since 2012.
Given Southampton’s terrible situation at the moment, John Mousinho has a perfect chance to finally end Portsmouth’s poor run against their rivals.
| Portsmouth’s record against Southampton | |
| Wins | 21 |
| Draws | 15 |
| Losses | 35 |
Pompey have not beaten them since 2010 when they overcame them in the FA Cup. Their winless run in the league goes on even longer, stretching back to 2005.
Now, when the two sides meet, Mousinho must make himself a hero and earn a victory in the fierce derby.