POMPEY FEAR RONNIE

“If you left him one-on-one with the best right-back in the world, he would beat him. I don't care who it is. He was walking past Emmanuel Eboue against Arsenal on Sunday. I've never seen anyone do that to Eboue before.

“It's very difficult to stop him. You've got to get tight with him and stop him getting the ball which is not easy.

“If I was putting together a list of the best players in the Premiership, Ronaldo would be in the top five, for sure.

“He's an amazing player who's got everything. He's 6ft 1in and great in the air. He's got terrific power with his shot. He's got unbelievably quick feet and the ability to beat people. He's got pace. He's a top, top player.

“I used to keep hearing idiots calling him a show pony. What absolute nonsense. I just looked at him and thought: What a talent this kid has.

“When he first came here, people seemed to want to dig him out because he's got ability and can do special things. I don't know why.

“He's done well against us the last couple of times, to be fair. He gave us big problems when they beat us 3-1 at Fratton Park last season.

“I played Matty Taylor left-back with Andres D'Alessandro in front of him, but we got badly overrun. So I brought on Andy Griffin at half time to play at left-back and moved Matty Taylor in front of him and we did much better. The team looked more solid; that's how we want to be on Saturday.

“Our full-backs will need all the help they can get on Saturday. You can't get isolated one-for-one with Ronaldo. I want to fill up both sides of the pitch. Lauren has got an engine and knows how to defend, so he can help double up with Glen Johnson on the right.”