FORMER Saints keeper Neil Moss is preparing for his own Millennium Stadium final tomorrow.

And the shot-stopper insists his Bournemouth side are under more pressure than Saints were last weekend when they face Lincoln in the Division Three final play-off in Cardiff.

Moss, pictured below, left St Mary's earlier this season on a free transfer after a successful loan spell with the Cherries.

He was out of contract at the end of the 2002/03 campaign and realised his chances at Saints were severely restricted by the presence of Antti Niemi, Paul Jones and Alan Blayney.

Now he is preparing to help Cherries, whom he left in 1995 for The Dell in a £25,000 switch, return to the Second Division 12 months after they were relegated.

"This is a winner takes all situation," admitted the 28-year-old New-Milton born keeper.

"People say teams win promotion or get relegated over the course of a season, but that's not the case for us tomorrow.

"For ourselves and Lincoln this will be our 49th league game of the season, but it all depends on the 90 minutes.

"It's a bigger game for ourselves than the FA Cup final was for Saints. With all due respect, they knew they had already qualified for Europe and though they wanted to win it, it hasn't affected next season for them.

"But we know if we lose we'll be in the Third Division again next season.

"The pressure is on us perhaps a bit more because we were widely tipped to go straight back up while Lincoln were being tipped for relegation."

Cherries booked their Cardiff trip by beating Bury 3-1 on aggregate in the play-off semi-final while Lincoln were defeating Scunthorpe 6-3 on aggregate.

The Imps sneaked into the play-offs by winning 1-0 at Cherries in the penultimate game of the season and then grabbing a point against Torquay in their last match courtesy of an 86th-minute leveller.

"It's been a long wait for us since we've beaten Bury," said Moss.

"The boss (Sean O'Driscoll) has had a difficult job keeping all the players under control; we just want to get out there and play.

"I'm just so excited, there's no point getting over-awed about it. Hopefully we'll win and then we can soak up the atmosphere afterwards.

"It's just such a crucial match - we just want to get out of this division."

Many neutrals have insisted Cherries are one of the best footballing sides in the Third Division, while Lincoln's more physical, long-ball approach mirrors that favoured by one of their former bosses, John Beck.

"Lincoln haven't won many fans with their style of play, but it's been a success for them," said Moss. "And football is all about getting results and they have had some good ones; they certainly haven't conceded many goals."

Though Cherries boast a youthful squad, experience is provided by the likes of Marcus Browning, Neil Young and Steve Fletcher while Moss played 22 top flight games for Saints - the last of which was in the 3-1 St Mary's win against Newcastle on the final day of the 2001/02 campaign.

"We've got players who have played in big games before," said Moss. "We've got some very good young players as well and I'd like to think we could all play another 100 games together.

"But once you start doing well in the lower divisions then bigger fish come looking for you, and I don't think the club could turn down any good offers.

"They have had a few bad years here with the financial problems and relegation, but the new chairman (Peter Phillips) has got the best interests of the club at heart.

"We should be taking about 20,000 fans to Cardiff and I just hope we give them a victory. They've been fantastic all season.

"And Sean O'Driscoll and Peter Grant (assistant manager) are two of the hardest-working people I have ever met in football.

"When I met them earlier in the season I was left in no doubt that they're all very ambitious people, and it's been a great move for me.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Southampton and I made some good friends, but it was a good time for me to leave. I was out of contract at the end of this season and the omens weren't looking good.

"Once I saw they'd signed Antti Niemi and I saw him play I knew what a good keeper he was, and there was Paul Jones as well.

"It was an easy decision for me to leave in the end."