PANTOMIME villain Steve Claridge admitted he thoroughly enjoyed the stick he got from Saints fans on Saturday.

The Millwall striker, born in Portsmouth and a former Pompey player and boss, was booed every time he touched the ball.

But he almost made it the worse possible outcome for the St Mary's faithful with a goal that was the difference between the teams until substitute Kevin Davies' last-minute equaliser.

Claridge certainly made the most of his strike, standing in front of the fans in the Northam Stand and cheekily pointing to the name on the back of his shirt.

In truth the 36-year-old stole the show for most of the game with his constant reaction to the jeers of Saints fans - while the travelling support simply sang 'Claridge for England!'

The Titchfield Common based veteran said: "It was sweet to score. The banter was good natured and just a bit of fun really. It was nice to get a goal and quieten them down a bit.

"I knew what the reaction would be and it was not actually as bad as I was expecting.

"I've been called worse things than a skate and it was good to get my own back.

"The fans didn't throw anything at me and I thought it was fairly good natured stuff. I don't mind getting a bit of mouth.

"I didn't play too badly and hopefully there was a grudging respect. Saints are a good side."

Claridge felt his team deserved to progress to the fifth round and was bitterly disappointed with the outcome.

He said: "The over-riding feeling is one of disappointment and it will take a while to get over this. It's a real choker and hard to describe.

"We would have taken a draw at the start, but I never thought that we were second best.

"Antti Niemi made some very good saves and looks a good goalkeeper.

"If we had got battered it wouldn't be so bad, but never at any stage did I think they deserved to be level. We should have won.

"For the first ten minutes we didn't really get hold of them but as the game went on not only did we stop them creating anything, we could have gone on and won the game by more.

"I feel like we have lost. I'd much rather have not scored and won the game."

He added: "When Kevin Davies came on I gave him a kick up the bottom and said 'don't score' but he has broken our hearts.

"But it won't be easy for them next Tuesday and they won't be relishing it. It (The New Den) is not a nice place to come and can be quite an experience.

"It can certainly be very intimidating and hopefully it will just be intimidating in the correct way."

Millwall manger Mark McGhee was full of praise for his talismanic frontman.

He said: "Steve's run himself into the ground and he only came off because he couldn't go any longer.

"You see it every week and he continues to confound you and his contribution was more than just a goal.

"He revels in the stick. Most places he goes he is one of those characters most fans enjoy seeing.

"But in one or two places he's not particularly liked and this is one of them, but he revels in that.

"Claridge is still scoring goals for us and he proves that sometimes when you sign a player you get a little bit of luck.

"He thinks he can go on for at least another year and I think he can.

"On the evidence of recent games I see no reason why he can't. When he first came here he was 35 and had the 35 shirt.

"Last year it was 36 and next year he wants 37. I think secretly he is hoping to get to number 40!"

Saints boss Gordon Strachan added: "I spoke to Claridge when we were both managers - he was having a bad time so he gave me a call just to make himself feel better!

"He was excellent today. I love players who love the game and who are self motivated and that is what he is.

"I know how hard it is to keep going at that age and he is a credit to himself."