We'd be in more of a mess without him: Portsmouth team-mate on under-fire Manchester City keeper's dark period after Ipswich Town nightmare

And the Wales international insisted his side would be even deeper in the mire, without the Manchester City loanee’s excellent form for much of the season.

Focus has fallen on Bazunu for the second successive game, after the Republic of Ireland international gifted Ipswich Town their opener in the 4-0 thrashing and then saw Sone Aluko’s tame shot squirm under his body for the visitor’s third goal.

That follows on from the 19-year-old being at fault for Rotherham’s crucial second goal, in Saturday’s 4-1 thumping at the New York Stadium.

Morrell is firmly behind his team-mate, however, and believes there are few if any better performers for Pompey this term.

He said: ‘I spoke to Gav in the changing room after the game, and he was still in there in his kit.

‘It’s sad to see, because he’s someone I’m quite close to.

‘Gav will play at the top of football, there’s absolutely no doubt about that - and I told him that.

‘He will remember that moment when he’s playing for Manchester City and got hundreds of caps for Ireland.

‘These are the moments you have to go through as a young player. I’ve been through them and I’m still going through them as a relatively young player.

‘For him, he’s still early in his career and learning to deal with it.

‘But Gav has nothing to apologise for. He’s been absolutely outstanding this season and probably our best player this season. Without him we’d be in more of a mess.’

With Pompey having a defined idea of playing out from the back, Morrell warned it’s likely there could be a repeat of Bazunu being caught in possession as he was for Ipswich’s opener.

But the midfielder sees such events as a trade off for the kind of attacking momentum the keeper gives his side, with his outstanding range of passing.

Morrell added: ‘There’s positives to the way we play and negatives, and one of the glaring negatives is you may sometimes give it away in a difficult position.

‘Gav is brave enough to take responsibility for that, and obviously as a keeper if you make a mistake nine times out of 10 it leads to a goal.

‘But Gav gives a lot to us in our build-up - and what he’s done this season for us has been nothing short of fantastic.

‘He’s down, but moving forward you will definitely see the best of Gavin Bazunu from going through a little bit of adversity.’

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