Gaffer: I'm glad Crewe are on a winning run - I never want Portsmouth to underestimate them again

I still haven’t recovered from the last time we played Crewe, that was my nightmare, a game we had no bottle or stomach for the fight.

Funnily enough I was Gaffer for a Day for that March 2017. I hope they pinned my verdict to the dressing room wall, I was so angry.

Then we went to Crawley and that corner which Christian Burgess scored was our most important moment of the season.

Eoin Doyle had missed a penalty, we netted from the resulting corner and went on to win 2-0. We then totalled 31 points from a possible 36 in the remainder of the season.

This time around, I’m quite pleased Crewe have won their last two matches. It means we won’t be viewing it as an easy game like we did last time.

I imagine the team have done their research properly and know not to take Crewe lightly and view it as a banker home win.

Mind you, they are a club which don’t win four or five in a row, so maybe they are due a defeat on Saturday.

The team picks itself, although the really difficult one is whether to have Cam Pring or fit-again Lee Brown at left-back.

I’ve actually been disappointed with Pring going forward, while Brown works better with Ronan Curtis so should get the nod.

It should be Sean Raggett and Jack Whatmough in defence, with Rasmus Nicolaisen dropped after Plymouth.

It’s amazing how good you are when you don’t play. Nicolaisen looks an okay player and comfortable on the ball, but the first time he has been put under pressure in a match he was bullied.

You can’t hide in this division, you need to stand up and be counted. Raggett is exactly what’s needed alongside the class-act Whatmough.

I also like Ryan Williams down the middle, so Marcus Harness should go on the right, with Curtis back on the left.

Williams’ work-rate is stupendous, he makes things happen for us and gets into such good positions.

There can be a lack of end product, the same with Andy Cannon, which I guess is why they are in League One.

However, Williams is quick and direct and does make a difference.

Pompey (4-4-2): MacGillivray, Johnson, Whatmough, Raggett, Brown, Harness, Naylor, Cannon, Curtis, Williams, Marquis.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage, starting at less than £1 a week.

You can subscribe here to get the latest news and transfer updates from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.