Republic of Ireland international Ronan Curtis is one of the finest for Portsmouth defender Lee Brown - even if he does sulk!

In a career which has spanned over 400 appearances to date, there’s been a long line of wingers who’ve teamed up with Lee Brown.

But none have been harder working than Ronan Curtis.

True, the left-back has to put up with the occasional strop and sulk from Pompey’s talented Republic of Ireland international.

Brown feels that’s a small price to pay, however, for someone who shows the level of commitment Curtis does.

Aligned with his undoubted potential, that makes the 23-year-old one of the premier left-sided partners the former QPR trainee has lined up with in his career.

Brown feels Curtis brings a will to win to the table which also makes him the kind of player he likes to link up with.

He said: ‘I’d take playing with Ronan every week. He’s as honest as the day’s long.

‘I’ve played with many, many wingers and, for me, he’s the hardest working of them all.

‘He’s the hardest working without a shadow of a doubt, even though we all know he sulks!

‘The thing is I’d rather he did that and it show he’s passionate and he wants to win.

‘I’d rather have that than someone going through the motions.

‘He wants to win and I’d take playing with him any day.

‘I think we complement each other well.

‘We get on with each other. I respect him and he respects me.

‘We bounce off each other in terms of how we play.

‘He wants to do certain things, I want to do certain things and it works well.’

Those who sit at the front of the North Stand and South Stand will testify Curtis and Brown are two of their side’s more vocal performers on a match day.

The opposition are as likely to be on the receiving end as communication between themselves, but the former Bristol Rovers man explained he does feel it’s important to have a constant exchanges with his team-mate.

As well as the practicalities of talking through a game, Brown feels Curtis also benefits with having a positive voice behind him.

Brown added: ‘I’m one to give him encouragement because I think he thrives off that more - not that he needs anymore confidence!

‘I’m one to talk anyway and I think that’s something which comes with experience.

‘He can sometimes get frustrated in himself if something doesn’t come off.

‘I’m more of the laid-back one out of us.

‘He just needs someone in his earhole telling him it’s going to come.

‘We have a bit of banter. I’ve enjoyed my last year and we’ve been lucky enough to play quite a few games together.

‘As I say, I’d take him every day of the week playing in front of me.

‘He works tremendously hard for the team - his stats say that every week.

‘He’s also very good on the ball and he complements my game. I feel I complement his as well.’