‘One thing I’d say about Portsmouth': Sky Sports pundit’s survival verdict as West Brom and Leicester City calls made
The Sky Sports and EFL expert assesses Pompey’s Championship survival hopes, with West Brom and Leicester City also under the microscope.
Pompey’s appetite for a survival fight has been backed as they scrap for their place in the Championship.
And EFL expert, Jobi McAnuff, has tipped John Mousinho’s men to remain in the second tier by the skin of their teeth this term.
Sky Sports pundit: ‘One thing I’ll say about Pompey - they will fight’
McAnuff has weighed up the battle at the bottom, with the Blues entrenched in that dogfight after six league games without a win.
The former Wimbledon and Reading man branded Pompey a ‘strange’ team given their erratic form this year, but gave an assessment which offered supporters cause for optimism in a testing period.
McAnuff told Sky Sports News: ‘Portsmouth have been there or thereabouts, but they feel like that team who are being really sucked into it.
‘They’re a strange team. They made some really good signings in January, Ebou Adams was one of them and Milli Alli another. I felt that gave them that bit of spark and they picked up some results, but this last run they’ve been on now is a worrying one.
‘Again, a defeat like that against a QPR team who have really got much to play for - you can see how distraught Ebou Adams is, who’s someone I had a spell with at Leyton Orient. He’s a really honest and hard-working player who will give everything.
‘That’s one thing I will say about this Portsmouth side - they will fight. There’s no one in that group who will be downing tools or thinking the battle’s too big.
‘I think John Mousinho will just about have enough to keep them up.’
Leicester’s appetite for Championship survival questioned
McAnuff’s tone wasn’t necessarily so positive over Leicester City’s appetite for the battle to stay up, after their draw at Watford made it one league win in 13.
He added: ‘Leicester have enough from a quality point of view.
‘If I was going into one of those teams as a manager and thinking which group has the most quality, it would be Leicester City for sure - but there seems to be bigger problems there.
‘Gary Rowett hasn’t got what many of us expected to get out of that group and find more consistency.
‘Maybe the one silver lining, even though they missed big chances against Watford, is they’ve kept a couple of clean sheets.
‘To a man they haven’t been good enough, but you cannot be missing opportunities (like Patson’s Daka’s missed penalty and open goal). You would think these players who’ve played in the Premier League and been in teams who’ve got promoted from the Championship should be taking those opportunities.
‘But the whole group needs to take accountability, it’s a question of mentality for me with Leicester City.
‘If they pull themselves together they have got the quality, but have they got the togetherness and spirit? That’s the big question for me.’
McAnuff also had words of praise for West Brom’s interim head coach, James Morrison, who has overseen back-to-back league wins after 13 matches without Championship success.
He added: ‘West Brom were in reverse and it looked bleak, I’m not sure I saw West Brom getting two wins on the bounce a while ago.
‘It’s huge. If you put that little run together you give yourself a chance - that’s what West Brom have done.
‘They have quality, I can’t believe they are where they are. They have really good players in that group, so maybe it’s about putting a bit of confidence and feelgood factor back in the group.
‘It was a big call to give him (Morrison) the job. A big decision but, at the moment, he’s giving them a fighting chance.’