EXPLAINING what it takes to be a champion, Muhammad Ali once said: "You have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be greater."

On Saturday, Saints certainly showed dashes of skill, yet it was their oceans of will which ultimately proved decisive against a Pompey team superior to those that were comfortably dispatched at St Mary's last season.

The pressure surrounding the first derby-day of the season could not have been greater following the Watford defeat in midweek.

For the players, it was a day to restore professional pride.

They also had to win back the confidence of their supporters.

Not to prove that they are world-beating footballers, but to show that doubts regarding their effort were simply confined to a freak night in Hertfordshire.

Yet there was one person, above all, who the players HAD to perform for. Head coach Steve Wigley might have been keen to share the plaudits in victory, but nobody among the 30,000-plus at St Mary's needed a result like him.

The lack of a Premiership victory in ten previous attempts had become a burden. More serious, however, was the prevailing view from well-informed sources that Wigley would lose his job unless he delivered three points on Saturday.

The ludicrously short time constraints for delivery among managers nowadays means that he is probably still not totally safe.

Yet several huge 'uppercut' victory punches from Wigley on the final whistle showed what it all meant after surely the most difficult week of his professional life.

Indeed, the collective sigh of relief from St Mary's could have sent a tidal wave down the Solent.

The head coach admitted he hadn't slept after Tuesday's 5-2 defeat against Watford, but also revealed he had been lifted by the support of a mystery visitor the following day. "I would like to thank him," he said after the game.

He didn't reveal his visitor's identity. A certain red-headed former Saints boss sprang to most minds, but Wigley was saying no more.

When asked about his future, Wigley was also understandably in defiant mood. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Some people came to bury me and now they will have to fill the grave.

"We have had our backs against the wall, but sometimes you find out about yourself when that happens."

Wigley was certainly proved right about many of his players, who appear to have emerged from the horrors of Tuesday stronger as a unit. They were apparently put together in a room last week and told to sort themselves out. Once the meeting was finished, it was decided that the recriminations must stop and the delivery must begin.

What impressed most was the manner of Saturday's performance. Like any derby, it was never going to be a feast of flowing football, but crucially the players looked to want it that bit more than their opponents.

Wigley also deserves huge credit for several brave selections. He needed players with big personalities and, despite being rushed back from injuries, the trio of James Beattie, Graeme Le Saux and Jason Dodd delivered.

The intoxicating talent of the fearless Dexter Blackstock also vindicated being started in place of eventual match-winner Kevin Phillips. In midfield, Rory Delap, Paul Telfer and Anders Svensson all underlined their first-choice status.

Saints still have plenty of improving to do, but that will happen if the confidence returns in full. The hope now is that the chance to repair that wounded feeling of momentum will be grasped.