CHILDHOOD Saints fan Meg Collett "can't wait" to make her south coast derby debut against Portsmouth on Sunday.

Collett, 19, was "gutted" to miss last season's 2-1 FA Cup third-round tie win at Westleigh Park through injury.

The full-back, who attended games between Saints and Pompey's men's teams in her younger years, is now raring to go in league action.

Academy graduate Collett admitted her first trip to Fratton Park will be a special occasion having grown up in a Saints supporting family.

“It’s going to be a great game," she told the Daily Echo. "For me as a local girl, it’s my first derby, I can’t wait for it. Hopefully, we can get a good crowd down.

“Everyone wants to win that game, but I’m one of the ones in the squad that wants to win that game more than anybody else.

“My family will be there. Being a Southampton girl, there is no better team to win against than Pompey.

“They are our biggest rivals. I’ve been to men’s games against Pompey. To step out onto the pitch myself is going to be special."

Collett is one of several locals and academy graduates in the Saints squad this season - the likes of Kayla Rendell and Lucia Kendall have also come through the ranks at Staplewood.

England youth international Collett admitted everyone wants to beat Portsmouth, who are yet to earn a point this season, no matter how long they have been at the club.

“There’s a few of us who have come through the academy here. It shows how good the pathway is and we will all be ready to play," she continued.

“Whether you’re from Southampton or not, everyone wants to win. We all have that winning mentality, it’s just going to be even more special for me.

“I was gutted last year to miss the Pompey game and the one against Arsenal after that. Those were two games I was really looking forward to.

“Hopefully, this year I will get more opportunity to play and show what this derby means to me.”

Portsmouth have struggled in the Championship this season having earned promotion from the National League last campaign.

They currently sit rooted to the bottom of the 11-team Championship table on zero points from their first five games.

Meg Collett insists Saints can't overlook PompeyMeg Collett insists Saints can't overlook Pompey (Image: Southampton FC/Chris Moorhouse) By contrast, Saints sit fifth in the league with seven points and a game in hand. Remi Allen's side have only conceded twice, while Pompey have leaked 17 goals.

Despite the differing starts to the season, Collett insisted Saints cannot "underestimate" their opponents.

“Of course, we take results into consideration, but I don’t think you can ever underestimate a team," she concluded.

“It’s also going to be a massive derby for them. They will have players who support Portsmouth in their team, we can’t underestimate them.

“We have to execute our game plan. I know they haven’t picked up a point but Jay (Sadler, Pompey Women boss) did an incredible job with them last season.

“We know what they are capable of and we’ve seen them score many goals. It’s going to be like a cup final for them. It’s Saints vs Pompey, it’s going to be rowdy.

“We know what to expect but we can’t let the occasion take over. We are buzzing about the occasion but we have to play our game and stay settled.”