Wigan travel to Fratton Park on Saturday seeking victory to bolster their fight against relegation.

Currently five points clear of the bottom three, they will be pinning their hopes on their England striker coming up with the goalscoring goods.

Despite notching only twice in 25 games, Heskey did grab the priceless winner in the crucial victory against fellow strugglers Bolton a fortnight ago.

The 30-year-old has also contributed two assists during the current campaign.

Boss Redknapp remains a massive fan of the striker he would dearly love to have in his squad.

And he's wary of the danger the former Liverpool and Leicester man poses his side's European hopes.

He said: 'Wigan have been playing well lately.

'Heskey up front is a handful, then there's Marlon King. They've got some good players.

'But Heskey's the one. I would have him any day. I looked at signing him in the past.

'Look how well he was playing for England until he got injured.

'He came back into the England team and was superb. I've always liked him.

'On his day he's a test for anybody to play against.

'Him and Marlon King, they'll be a real test for us.

'He's what I call an old-fashioned centre forward and there's not many of them about nowadays.

'We've got a few slight, little ones at the moment.

'There's only Crouchie in terms of being big, but he's different isn't he – a different type of player.

'I went to watch them against Manchester City a few weeks ago and Heskey caused them big problems.

'He was a handful for Man City that night and it finished 0-0.

'He's a real danger and we've got to watch him.'

While Wigan may need points in terms of Premier League preservation, the fixture also remains crucial for Pompey aspirations.

And Redknapp still isn't giving up on the push for fifth spot.

He added: 'It's a game we want to win.

'It's not all about the Cup, there's still the league. Winning becomes a habit and we want to finish as high as we can.

'If we can finish fifth it would be fantastic. No-one is giving up on that.

'If we can win on Saturday and Everton get beat at Liverpool it's four points between us and all to play for.'