Howe: Cherries not scared of Saints

17 June 2010 07:00
Cherries boss Eddie Howe set his sights on causing a major Carling Cup upset against Southampton and then insisted: We don't fear anyone.[LNB] The Dean Court outfit were yesterday handed a dream first-round tie at St Mary's, where they will meet Saints on the week commencing August 9.[LNB] Cherries have not faced their couth coast neighbours in a competitive fixture since 1987-88. On that occasion, in the same competition, Sean O'Driscoll scored the decisive goal as Cherries sprung a surprise in the second leg at The Dell.[LNB] And despite the prospect of going into the 2010 renewal as underdogs against the League One title favourites, Howe is hoping his newly promoted team will produce a good performance.[LNB] He told the Echo: It will be a very, very tough game. Southampton are a very good side they've got a really good squad and have strength in depth, so from that side of things it will be very tough.[LNB] We can express ourselves, hopefully, and give a good account of ourselves.[LNB] Asked whether there was any reason to go to into the eagerly-anticipated derby clash with fear, he said: I don't think you can go anywhere with fear.[LNB] We'll go there with respect and we will respect Southampton immensely. But we don't fear anyone.[LNB] We'll be well prepared and, hopefully, we'll have a good pre-season behind us and give it a right go. Our aim is to cause an upset it has to be.[LNB] Going to a stadium like St Mary's is a fantastic arena to play in and, hopefully, that will lift us and we might be able to cause an upset, who knows[LNB] After Cherries' against-the-odds promotion into the third tier, the two clubs will meet in league action for the first time since they went head to head in the old division three in 1959-60.[LNB] And with the League One fixtures released today, supporters will be able to put two more derby dates in their diaries, alongside the cup meeting.[LNB] Howe added: It's a great draw.[LNB] I think it will generate huge interest locally and it should be a really good test for us early on in the season to gauge how we're going to do.[LNB] It's set up nicely. For our fans to go to Southampton twice in a season is something that hasn't happened in a long time, so we're really looking forward to it from this end.[LNB]

Source: Bournemouth_Echo