James to become a record breaker

With all the thought, or at least plenty of them, turned to 'who will become Pompey's new manager' the fact that David James equalled the premier league appearance record last weekend was probably missed - the fact that he will break this when we play Citeh tomorrow probably equally so...

But the England no.1 will make premier league appearance number 536 at the weekend, therefore surpassing Gary Speed's record, which of course he currently shares.

James has told The Sun what it will mean to him to set this record, and it is something that he is proud of: 'the record means a hell of a lot to me. Every time Gary Speed has pulled on a shirt in recent seasons the lads have given me a bit of stick, saying: 'You'll have to go for another game... and another one'. It's the same when Ryan Giggs plays.

'I have been there from the first Premiership game and the first live Sky game, which I think was Liverpool against Forest in 1992.

'I am playing in the best domestic league in the world, so if you can play in it for 15 or 16 years, that must say something.'

He also spoke about his future with Pompey, and despite reports to the contrary he is not planning on making a swift exit from the South Coast, as he still believes that he owes the club a lot: 'as things stand, I have another couple of years with Portsmouth and I hope to go on as long as I can.

'When I signed for Pompey, I was looking at Championship options as well.

'Portsmouth gave me the opportunity to be in the Premier League and that's why I'm still playing for England, too.'

To be honest his form has been up and down this season, but I still maintain my thoughts that a lot of this is due to the fact that he has little, or no, confidence in the defenders in front of him so he is trying to do too much to compensate for this and at times this costs him and us.

All being well we will still have a couple more years service from him and the record can be extended yet further, but starting tomorrow with a win would be a fantastic start, and a start we need.

Remember the last time we faced Citeh and were looking squarely down the barrel - can history repeat itself, but with him on our side this time...

PLAY UP POMPEY!



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