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Adams voices Kranjcar fears

06 Jun 2008 - 09:46:12

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Portsmouth's assistant manager Tony Adams has concerns that Croatia playmaker Niko Kranjcar could suffer burn-out due to his involvement in the Euro 2008 finals.

The 23-year-old midfielder enjoyed a fine campaign with Pompey, helping the club win the FA Cup, but Adams is worried that Kranjcar is in need of a rest.

He told The News: "Niko's got the European Championships, which won't be a good thing for Portsmouth.

"That's on top of a long season and as a player you need a long break in the summer.

"We are going to have to look at him in pre-season and see what kind of schedule we can have him on. But we are a little concerned about him.

"Niko's actually played more than any other Portsmouth player this season. He's played regularly in the league and the cups and then gone on international duty for another 12 games on top.

"Someone like Sylvain Distin has missed two games all season, but we've been giving him days off in the international weeks. Niko hasn't had that.

"I think you could tell that at the end of last season Niko had gone a little bit. It might have been fatigue, it might been a few things, but he looked tired."