‘The reality is…’: Portsmouth great David James on former side’s budget gap with Championship rivals
The FA Cup hero and Premier League great airs his views on Pompey’s current position and the playing budget differential with Championship rivals.
Premier League hero David James has revealed why he thinks Pompey can bridge the playing budget gap to their Championship rivals.
And the Fratton FA Cup winner has refused to write off his former side even making a charge up the table this season and challenging at the right end of the second tier.
David James on Pompey: ‘The players are there’
Pompey entered the international break on a bleak run of form, with a single league success in 11 putting paid to the early sense of promise to the campaign.
That’s seen supporters asking questions over the factors for the drop-off, with the club’s position at the rear of the Championship spending hierarchy an area under focus.
James highlighted the quality of the players already in the building at PO4 as a significant factor as to why the playing budget doesn’t mean the team can’t perform.
When asked if Pompey can survive in those circumstances, James, speaking exclusively to portsmouth.co.uk via an online casino site, said: 'Yes, they can. I mean, without stating the obvious, you just have to win the games. I mean, the reality is the players are there, I would argue the players are already in the squad. It's just keeping the motivation in the squad right.
'The problem with football, and especially in the Championship, I think more so the Championship than any other division and I'm not saying about Portsmouth's players specifically. I think there's a lot of players in the Championship who think they should be in the Premier League.
‘There's a lot of players who have obviously dropped out of the Premier League, haven't made the grade. And the very nature of that league, I think, is so different to any other.
'I just think the Championship has this very interesting blend of players. If you go into League One, especially League Two, they've got dreams of the Premier League, but they're divisions apart.
'Whereas in the Championship, you've got players who think, if I do well enough here, and because of the transfer windows, I think there can be a lot of distraction with players trying to get themselves in a position where they're possibly getting transferred to the Premier League.
‘So, as I say, keeping the morale right in the changing room is key, trust the process and get results for Portsmouth and things will be okay.'
Pompey great isn’t writing off play-offs
Pompey’s current struggles is a world away from the Championship opening for John Mousinho’s side, with a run of a single loss in the first five league games leaving them handily placed on the fringes of the play-offs in the formative table.
Supporters were looking up then, but now they see their side four points off the drop zone in 20th with some underperforming big hitters around them.
James remains upbeat about where his old side can aim, however, as they return to action against Millwall next week with injured players back in the fray.
He added: 'When you look at Coventry, Middlesbrough, Bristol City, who are flying in a minute, it seems to be going further and further away from automatic promotion.
'But to get things right now would definitely give Portsmouth a chance to get into those play-offs.’