Saints defender Virgil Van Dijk says he is looking forward to playing in a derby style atmosphere again local rivals Bournemouth tomorrow.
The 24-year-old, who featured in the famous old firm derby during his time at Celtic, would welcome a heated atmosphere at St. Mary’s.
It’s easy to say, but I think once the game has started you just shut yourself off and focus on your teammates and winning.
“I’m very proud I’ve played in the famous derby in Scotland of course. For us, Sunday, you just want to win the game and it’s important to win the game as well.” he added.
Southampton go into their first ever Premier League encounter with The Cherries unbeaten in six in all comps, and will fancy themselves against an out of sorts Bournemouth side.
But after letting a two-goal lead slip against Leicester, Van Dijk is hoping for improvements against Bournemouth.
“We want to do much better than we did last game at home against Leicester – control the game 90 minutes and win the game,” he said.
The Dutchman is also setting his sights on a clean sheet, the saints have conceded a goal in each of their last 5 games.
I want to keep clean sheets now as well, instead of winning and still conceding.
Van Dijk has been in a rich vein of form for the saints since joining from Celtic for £13 million back in August, not only has he added stability to the back line but has also found the back of the net twice already this season.
Nevertheless, the 6ft4 colossal defender is keeping his feet firmly on the ground as he looks to help Southampton reach their highest ever Premier League finish.
“There’s still a lot to improve and I’m aware of that and I want to get the maximum out of myself and out of my team, so we work hard every day and at the end of the day it’s all about winning and progressing as a team.” Van Dijk said.
Do you consider Sunday’s match a “derby”?
