Portsmouth and Republic of Ireland ace Ronan Curtis vows haters won’t get to him after police are called over phone abuse

And the Republic of Ireland ace has promised to silence the critics with his performances on the pitch, as he gears up for Pompey’s play-off showdown with Sunderland.

Curtis revealed the police have been called in after facing a barrage of phone flak, which led to him being forced to change his mobile number.

The 23-year-old has hit back after being on the receiving end of the crank calls, but is adamant they will not impact him negatively.

Curtis said: ‘I’ve had a couple of phone calls and text abuse.

‘I think it was probably kids ringing up thinking it was funny.

‘I was getting calls every 10 minutes so I had to change my number.

‘It’s been every day over the past two weeks, coming from the same two or three numbers.

‘They were just saying things like I’m not good enough and trying to be funny.

‘The club’s dealing with it now and they have informed the police.

‘It doesn’t bother me, though. They know where I am if they want to come see me because I’m training every day.

‘If fans don’t like you then you’ll get abuse for 90 minutes at the weekend. It doesn’t bother me.

‘You have to rise above it and be a professional footballer in the right manner. 

‘You think you could say this or that, but you just have to bite your tongue and rise above it.

‘If it’s on the pitch the best answer is to laugh and clap at them - and stick one in the top bin.

‘To me, the best answer is to do your best and score and point that out to them after.’

Curtis’ form has been under the spotlight in recent weeks, with his levels failing to reach his early-season highs.

That’s led to criticism from some sections of the Fratton faithful, while Kenny Jackett has brought him in and out of the starting XI since his return from injury.

Curtis is adamant he can take all that in his stride, however

He added: ‘You will get hate wherever you are as a footballer. You just have to laugh at them and do your thing.

‘People will always expect more, but if you said to the fans at the start of the season we’d reach the play-offs and win at Wembley, they’d have bitten your hands off. That’s life, though.’