Rocha the rock

A lot has been said about Rocha John Rocha in recent weeks, and what a difference he had made.

It has not been a coincidence that his return - and to be fair The Herminator's - to the back 4 has seen us become a lot tighter at the back and actually build from the back better.

He is more than comfortable on the ball so instead of just hoofing it forward, unless needs must, as he is a defender that is very cultured on the ball so can bring it out from the back and play it forward with ease to get us going again - all of this helps keep pressure off the back 4 as it does not always mean that it will constantly keep coming back.

At the same time he is more than happy to follow the old philosophy of 'if in doubt put it out!'

I recently wrote an article about rebuilding - click here.

A comment following this was kind of questioning why I had not made mention to RJR and what his future will hold?

I was under the impression that he signed a 2-year contract when he re-signed last summer - so, with that in mind, unless someone comes in for him and we accept do we really need to worry about him moving on, right?

Or is that too much of an assumption...

To be honest at his age, and with a bit of a dodgy track record with injuries, I am not entirely sure - as solid as he has been - that people will be queuing for him due to, what could be considered, a 'risk factor'.

We can build a defence around him, I would more than agree with those thoughts, but again given the previously mentioned thoughts, this cannot exactly be done with the real 'long-term' in mind but certainly with the 'immediate' future in mind, of course...

I know that Steve Cotterill, who has today - as I am sure you have read in The News - praised him had said that he was being left out earlier in the season due to the fact that he was suffering with hamstring problems, which perhaps he was, but it still surprises me that a 'risk' was not taken with him but it constantly has been others who have suffered with 'niggling' injuries.

What difference could RJR have made if he did?

But hey ho, there is no point looking back lets think of what a difference he has made now! If we can keep him injury-free and bring in players that will work well with him next season we could have plenty to celebrate as we build on, what will hopefully be, a solid defensive base.

PLAY UP POMPEY!

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