RUSSELL Martin has never lost against Cardiff City as a manager, not that their supporters will need to be reminded of that.

During his time at Swansea City, Martin became the first manager to complete the South Wales derby double. He repeated that same fate the following season.

A 2-0 win over the Bluebirds at St Mary's earlier this season maintained his 100 per cent record against the Welsh side.

Across his five games against Cardiff, Martin's sides are 14-2 up on aggregate. It's no surprise then that he was the subject of taunting from the away fans throughout that 2-0 victory.

"I don't think I'm very well-liked in those parts," the boss admitted on Friday. "Maybe that adds to the atmosphere a little bit."

In terms of league position, Cardiff have little to play for, their Championship status already secured for next season.

For Saints, a win keeps them in the automatic promotion hunt ahead of key trips to rivals Leicester and Leeds.

Although a cliche, you will never hear a Saints player talk about any game other than the one in front of them.

On Tuesday, Ryan Manning insisted that today's fixture is Southampton's "biggest game of the season" and it is hard to argue with him.

He told the Daily Echo: "We have to take it game by game. There's no point looking at the next game or the last one of the season. We have to take Saturday for what it is."

Daily Echo: Ryan Manning is also expected to receive a hostile reception at the CCSRyan Manning is also expected to receive a hostile reception at the CCS (Image: Stuart Martin)

Martin echoed a similar sentiment to the Irish international: "The next three (games) really don't matter if we don't take care of tomorrow. It's the biggest game of our season for sure.

"I've honestly not thought about Leicester once, full tilt is the only way. It's ridiculous to go into a game with any eyes on the next one or any concerns about games beyond that."

Cardiff have a host of players unavailable for this afternoon's 3:00pm kick-off. Key man Perry Ng, who leads their goalscoring charts as a defender, has been ruled out.

Fellow top goalscorer Karlan Grant is another on the Bluebirds' 12-man injury list, alongside Aaron Ramsey, Jamilu Collins, Callum Robinson and Josh Bowler.

Despite their injury struggles, Martin refuted the suggestion that it would be an easy afternoon. 

"I think they will be dangerous. Some players will be given opportunities that they haven't had earlier in the season. There's always something to play for, individually and collectively.

"Teams play with real freedom when they don't have much to play for in terms of promotion or relegation. We saw that from Watford last week."