FORMER Dell defender Sam Stockley returns to the south coast tomorrow aiming to pile the misery on beleaguered head coach Steve Wigley.

Stockley, who spent nine years associated with Saints, is expected to be part of the Colchester United side who search for a Carling Cup upset at St Mary's.

Saints are desperate for a morale-boosting result against the League One outfit who have lost three of their last four games, including the last two at home to Wrexham and Tranmere.

Defeat against the lower division side, who dumped West Brom out of the competition in the previous round would be unthinkable and only add to the continued unrest felt by sections of the St Mary's faithful.

And Stockley, who used to clean Jason Dodd's boots during his time as an apprentice, confessed: "Maybe this could be a good time to play Southampton.

"There is absolutely no pressure on us - the pressure is on Southampton.

"It's the same as when we played West Brom. When that draw was made we thought it was maybe a good time to play them as they were struggling.

"And we deserved to win that game, we were the better side for 45 minutes and in extra time."

Stockley's emotional return to Saints is tempered by the fact that good friend and former Dell youth colleague Matt Oakley won't be playing alongside him.

Oakley was in the year above age group and Stockley said: "He's stayed a good friend. You could tell he was going to be a quality player even then.

"Southampton have certainly missed him since he's been injured. Sometimes you don't realise just what you have got until it's taken away and it could be that the fans took him for granted."

Stockley is a natural right-back but has been playing left-back for the U's since returning earlier this month after a minor groin operation.

"There's an air of expectation around the club," he continued. "The gaffer has stopped us talking in terms of promotion but we're quietly confident. The bottom line is we're looking to finish in the play-offs.

"We're a good young side - I'm about the third oldest at 27.

"But let's be honest - Southampton are an excellent side, they have some quality players, they are just going through a difficult situation at the moment."

Devon-born Stockley was spotted by Saints playing for his county aged 10. He signed schoolboy forms at 14, YTS two years later and his first professional contract at 18. He was released at the end of the 1995/96 season without ever playing a first team game but, unlike many youngsters who are released and eventually drift into the non-league scene, Stockley has played over 350 first team games for Barnet, Oxford and Colchester, who he joined in 2002.

Amongst his peers at The Dell were just a handful who made it in the Football League after leaving Saints - Oxford striker Steve Basham and Southend keeper Darryl Flahavan.

Others included Simon Kerr and Danny Hazelhurst, who failed to make the professional grade at all.

Colchester, meanwhile, began their season well but have slipped to mid-table since beating West Brom.

"The game has come at a good time for us. The pressure has been on us. These games are a good release for us."

Those words came from Sam Stockley - though they could easily have been uttered by Wigley.

Saints are expecting a reasonable game for tomorrow's tie with just under 15,000 tickets sold as of yesterday afternoon. Over 1,500 tickets were sold yesterday.

At present the lowest gate for a first-team game at St Mary's is the 16,603 who watched Saints cane Tranmere 6-1 in the Carling Cup in October 2002.