Southampton boss Ronald Koeman welcomes Bournemouth's south-coast rivalry

Ronald Koeman is looking forward to the clash with Bournemouth

RONALD KOEMAN may be keen to hype Southampton against Bournemouth as a local derby but Saints defender Virgil van Dijk intends to treat it as just another game.

 

With traditional south-coast rivals Portsmouth down in the fourth tier, Saints boss Koeman is keen to build a narrative with the Cherries. "In my opinion it's a derby - but maybe not the biggest one, because there's not a lot of history between both clubs," he said.

"I hope that they will stay in the Premier League so that we will get a few years in a row to play against each other.

"Everybody will have more attention to the game and that makes it a little bit more special."

But fellow Dutchman Van Dijk, who played in the fierce Glasgow derby for Celtic against Rangers, is content to take bragging rights out of the equation today.

 

Virgil van Dijk is treating the clash as just another Premier League game

"It's easy to say but I think once the game has started you just shut yourself off and focus on your team-mates and on winning," he said. "It's just another Premier League game.

"I'm very proud I've played in the famous derby in Scotland of course, but for us on Sunday you just want to win the game.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe welcomes the challenge of a "special" game. "It's a new experience for us, since I've been here we haven't played many local derbies," he said. "We played them back in League One and it was a memorable experience. But this is in the Premier League and it will be totally different.

"The players are looking forward to it and I certainly know that the fans are. I am just hoping that we can make them proud."