Ryan Seager wants to top off a memorable few weeks by taking a big step towards a major piece of silverware.

The 19-year-old striker made his first team debut as a sub in the FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace in January, and followed it up with a Premier League bow off the bench in the game with Swansea.

Now he is set to lead the line as the Saints under-21 side welcome Derby to St Mary’s tonight with a place in the final of the Premier League Under-21 Cup up for grabs.

Seager said: “I play for the under-21s and I love it, and it’s been a great few weeks for me with obviously making my debut, but I’m focused on the under-21s now and the game on Thursday.

“Everyone is buzzing around the place, and obviously we want to get to the final so hopefully we can win the game.

“The last few games, we haven’t been up to the standard that we want to be, but I think we can rectify it this game, hopefully get the win and get into that final.

“It’s always nice to have a cup run – who wouldn’t want to win the cup?

“We know they’re a good team, and we know they’re top of their league, so it’s going to be a tough game – we’re not going to think it’s going to be easy or anything like that. We know we’re in for a real game.”

Saints have beaten Ipswich, Norwich and Watford to reach the last four of the competition and would face Blackburn in a two-legged final if they win through, with Rovers having already defeated Reading in the other semi-final.

Martin Hunter, the under-21s boss, said: “Everybody’s really looking forward to the game. It’ll be a tough game – they’re top of their league – and I’ve just seen some footage of their play. They’re very similar to us, they try and play in an attacking style, so it all bodes well for the game.

“They’ve got some very good players. From time to time they’ll use senior players, so we understand what they’re going to do in terms of their formation – we think we understand that.

“The actual team they’re going to play, we’re not sure on that.

“They’re all playing for a place in the team. We’ve got a good squad to pick from, so we’ll see who’s performed well and pick the team accordingly.”

He added: “From a young age, the priority is the principles of play, and we adhere to that – that’s why it’s easy for a player coming through the 16s or the 18s or the 21s to slot in to the team. It’s not a thing that we’re going to do differently, so it does make it easier for them.

“If you take an average playing career, you’re not going to play in too many semi-finals or be in the running for a championship, and even at this age, that’s important. We keep saying they’re learning how to win, it’s very important. We want to be in the final and we need to play well on Thursday.”

The match kicks-off at 7pm with tickets available at the turnstiles on a cash-only basis priced £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.