Why Portsmouth have looked at playing Hampshire Senior Cup tie with bitter rivals Southampton behind closed doors

The Blues CEO said that’s something which could be a possibility as they look to mitigate potential financial losses in staging the second-round tie at Fratton Park.

Denying fans the opportunity to watch their side – which would likely be a mix of academy youngsters and fringe first-team players – in action is not something the club want to entertain.

That’s especially true when the fixture in question is a south-coast derby, irrespective of the competition.

But speaking at the recent Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference, Cullen confessed the need to police the game, along with additional security measures, would cost Pompey ‘significant money’ – and that needed to be taken into account.

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Admitting also that no date had been arranged for the tie, the Blues chief said: ‘The Hampshire Cup is usually a good money-spinner for local non-league clubs.

‘If they draw one of the bigger clubs like us or Southampton, it’s a great payday for these community sides. It’s why we usually seek to play all of our games in this competition away.

‘It’s surprising that we’ve been paired with them (Southampton) as it denies other clubs the chance to play either side and earn money from it.

‘We will now need to police the game, and that, coupled with additional security measures, means it will cost the club significant money to stage this fixture

‘We’re looking at when the fixture can take place but so far it’s been hard to agree a mutually convenient date or time.

‘We’ve even looked at the possibility of playing it behind closed doors so that the losses of staging the game might be mitigated.

‘It is a tough one as we don’t want to deny our supporters any opportunity to watch the team play any fixture.’

The tie represents the first time both sides will have met since Southampton’s 4-0 Fratton Park win in the Carabao Cup in September 2019 – a game that attracted a crowd of 18,707.

It also marks Saints’ return to the competition, after they made the decision to sit it out last term.

While they did that, a largely youthful Blues set-up progressed to the quarter-finals, where they were eventually eliminated 4-0 at Farnborough in February.

Speaking to The News this week about the fixture, Pompey boss Danny Cowley said: ‘These are academy fixtures, ultimately, and we see it as a cup competition for them. It’s a great opportunity for our young players to play in front of supporters and a crowd.

‘However, we will support them with some senior players. I really like the fact that some senior players can play and get the game time they need, while also helping the young players.

‘The exact make-up of our side depends on the scheduling, the opponent, the venue – all these kinds of things.’