EXTRA police officers have been drafted in to man Saints' clash with one of Britain's most notorious football clubs today.

The FA Cup fourth-round tie with Millwall is one of only two games at St Mary's this season to have a maximum quota of 150 officers brought in to prevent trouble.

Police said the figure was marginally more than most Premiership games - despite a below-average crowd of 28,000 predicted at this afternoon's game.

Match commander Chief Supt Graham Wyeth, head of Southampton police, said: "Clearly we are aware that Millwall's reputation precedes them. But from the liaison that has taken place within the planning programme, both the club and the Met have done a lot of work since the large-scale disorder event of last season.

"We have liaised with our colleagues in the Met and at the club in relation to some additional policing and steward actions that will be taken to ensure that, hopefully, what will be a good event is remembered for all the right reasons."

Chief Supt Wyeth added: "This is slightly different from a standard Premiership game and clearly there is a lot riding on it.

"We want people to have a cracking day for all the right reasons. Getting a win will be a bonus, but we will measure our success in terms of no one being injured, no ejections and no arrests."

Southampton police will be working closely with their Met colleagues to identify potential troublemakers. Only 3,200 tickets have been sold to Millwall season ticket and passport holders, which have already proved successful in keeping the south London club's troublesome element away from games this season.

Southampton tickets have only been made available to season ticket holders, club members or those on the Saints' database of people who have bought seats before, to prevent Millwall fans gaining entry to the home sections.

Police said all matches at the £32m Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium were classed category A, B or C - meaning anything between 101 and 150 officers were used. Only today's clash with Millwall and the Leeds United game scheduled for April have been classified C, with the maximum of 150 officers brought in to prevent trouble.

A club spokesman said: "We are confident that the game will pass off without major incident."