‘Top drawer’: Portsmouth favourite praises £600,000 arrival after answering call at crucial time
Madiodio Dia registered his second Pompey start on Friday following his £600,000 switch from Haugesund in January.
Regan Poole has praised Madiodio Dia for stepping up to the mark in Pompey’s draw with Norwich City on Friday.
And the centre-back has used the £600,000 signing as a prime example as to why every member of John Mousinho’s squad will required to play some part in their hugely-important survival bid.
It represented just his second league start and fourth Blues appearance following his deadline day switch from Norwegian outfit Haugesund.
Indeed, Poole, who started alongside the young defender in the heart of defence for the first time against the Canaries, was impressed by his centre-back compatriot’s ability to step in at a crucial time of the campaign.
Fratton favourite impressed by new arrival
He told The News: ‘Yeah, he done well. It’s obviously a really tough place to come on your second start in the league.
‘Really tough place to come, the situation that we're in and a really pressurised game, but fair do’s, he has done them really well.
‘Credit where credit's due, he was top drawer today. Big shout out to him, I thought he was really good.
‘I've played in the Championship for a full season, I’ve played in many of these games, I've been in relegation battles, I've got an experienced ladder at only 27, so I've been in this situation before. He hasn't. So fair do's to him.
‘He stood up to the occasion really well, especially with the game and how it went. We went 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go.
‘A really tough, tough place to come, good team, good crowd and he done really well today and credit with credits due.
‘He was top drawer.’
Huge rally cry ahead of season’s climax
With the Blues still managing Conor Shaughnessy’s fitness after a prolonged period out this term, Dia is in pole position to answer the call at centre-back and is currently ahead of the likes of Ibane Bowat and Hayden Matthews.
And Poole has highlighted the 22-year-old’s vital contribution as an example as to why every member of Mousinho’s squad has to be ready to play some part in the remaining weeks of the season.
‘We’re going to need everyone. It's not just the XI on the pitch, it's the people coming in, as shown by JoJo today.
‘We don't have a starting XI, we have a group here and it's the group in the building that everyone's going to be needed and everyone's needed to get us over the line.
‘So whoever's out there, whether it's me, whether it's someone else, I'll be fully behind and back in the group and everyone needs to be like that. Otherwise, you know, it doesn't work.
‘You need everyone on board and we've got that, so we're looking forward to with the coming games.’