ACADEMY graduate Sam McQueen admitted he was left buzzing after his “movie moment” home debut at St Mary’s in the 3-1 win against Burnley in the Premier League.

For McQueen, born and bred in Southampton as a Saints fan, it was an almost overwhelmingly emotional moment to play at St Mary’s, but he’s now hungry for more after revealing playing in the Premier League for the first time “felt natural”.

The left-back now has one eye on playing in the massive Europa League match at Inter Milan on Thursday night.

With fellow Southampton-born academy graduate Matt Targett limping off injured against the Clarets, McQueen, who attended Mountbatten School in Romsey, got the nod from Claude Puel to make his dream home debut.

It’s been two-and-a-half years since he made his first Saints appearance in an FA Cup tie at Sunderland in February 2014.

“It’s been years and years of hard work,” he said. “It’s my movie moment to come on at St Mary’s and make my debut.

“The thing is, it’s over so quickly and by tomorrow I’ll want to play again.

“I just want to get onto the next game and before I know it hopefully I’ll be playing regularly or far into my career.”

He added: “I’m still buzzing. It felt natural to be fair. The reception I got from the crowd when I came on was amazing. I’ve waited a long time for it, so I was more than ready.”

The 21-year-old, who was on loan at Southend United last term, was given a place on the bench with Targett deputising for first choice Ryan Bertrand out injured with a hamstring problem.

But when Targett was injured early on he got his chance.

“It’s not nice to see team-mates get injured,” he said. “Everyone knows the struggles that you go through. It’s not easy when you’re injured.

“I do feel for Matty, but he was really good with me. He came off encouraging me and saying all the best.

“There are no feelings of hoping that someone gets injured to get an opportunity. I’m not happy that he’s injured, but he’s going to be happy that I’m playing.”

With his parents and girlfriend watching from the stands and the St Mary’s faithful getting behind him from the off, McQueen settled quickly and was soon bombing forward.

He even won the penalty that Charlie Austin converted to make it 3-0 on 66 minutes.

“First and foremost I was thinking my parents are in the crowd,” he smiled when asked what his thoughts were when he was about to come on. “I was just wondering what they were thinking.

“You just want to get your first touch of the ball and the thing I’ve always been told in pressured moments is just to keep it simple and get yourself into the rhythm of the game, get your confidence up a bit and then express yourself, which I managed to do.”

For McQueen, who has been converted from an attacking player to a defender by Puel, taking to the pitch at St Mary’s with the crowd chanting his name was a moment he won’t forget.

“The reception from the fans when I first came on was amazing,” he said. “I could hear them singing. I’m a Southampton lad so it’s something special for me to get on and play here.

“It’s something I’ve been waiting for years after making my debut. It’s a long time coming so it’s something special.”

There were chants from Saints’ supporters of “he’s one of our own”, which meant a lot to the youngster.

“It’s a very special song to have,” he said. “It’s good because it means something to me.

“It’s special and I appreciate that and I just hope to play in front of them more and more.”

McQueen has always been a Saints supporter, although his father is from Newcastle and was keen for his son to be a Magpies fan.

“My dad’s a Geordie so he tried to bring me up as a Newcastle fan, but I’m Saints-born. I’ve played here all my life,” he said.

“We’ll have a bit of a laugh about things if we come up against Newcastle, but I’m a Saints fan.”

The Staplewood produced youngster hailed his team-mates as "amazing" for ushering him through his Premier League bow.

“They were amazing when I came on," he said. "The encouragement you get, they shout across to you and they will talk to you constantly and give you encouragement.

“When you do something right you will know, but it’s fantastic when you’re not doing something right or when you make a mistake, they’re not afraid to let you know and that’s good.”