PORTSMOUTH icon David Norris reckons the Spygate fallout will make Sunday’s South Coast derby the spiciest in history.
Southampton were after being caught snooping on rivals last season.
But Saints chief Tonda Eckert escaped with a and a £28,000 fine earlier this week.
It means the German will be in the dugout when fierce foes Portsmouth make the short trip to St Mary’s.
And former Pompey favourite feels Southampton’s rule-breaking will give the showdown some extra bite.
The ex-midfielder, 45, told SunSport: “Spygate just adds more fuel to the fire.
“It gives something else to use against them. The supporters will have songs ready to give them a lot of stick for what’s happened.
“Southampton were caught cheating and I’m sure the Pompey fans will use that.
“I was surprised that kept the manager because you don’t know how the players are going to react.
“He technically cost them the chance to win promotion and the wage increases that would have come with that.
“That must impact the relationship between the players and the manager. I thought that would be the end of him.”
have the chance to leapfrog Southampton in the table if they bag all three points.
But Pompey fans will be escorted to St Mary’s using a police ‘bubble’ system, with private transport forbidden.
And Norris, who was involved in two South Coast derbies during his year-long spell at Fratton Park, warned the current crop of players need to understand the magnitude of the showdown.
He said: “It’s a proper hatred. When I was playing, we had to get a police escort in from Portsmouth to .
“People were throwing stuff at the team bus and there were loads of verbals all the way in to the ground. We had five-year-old kids and old grannies giving us grief.
“I didn’t realise until being at just how much hatred there is in that derby, rather than it just being a rivalry where there is a bit of banter.
“This one means a lot to the people and fans will have been telling the players about it weeks before the game.
“They hate each other and I think it’s one of the most underrated derbies in the country.”
Norris made himself a Portsmouth hero after notching a last-gasp equaliser to snatch a point at Southampton 14 years ago.
And fans still celebrate Day on April 7 despite going on to suffer relegation and their rivals sealing promotion.
He added: “I get reminded about that goal every year. The fans still celebrate it and my social media normally goes mad when it gets to that day.
“We were going into administration and losing our best players, so it was a real struggle.
“We went 2-1 down just before injury time and that felt like a killer blow for us.
“But, luckily for me, the ball dropped nicely and I made a one-in-1,000 connection.
“It’s the best feeling I had in my football career in terms of a one-off moment.”
