Crouch - Battle not over

20 February 2009 14:57
Peter Crouch insists that Portsmouth are not out of trouble yet.[LNB] Pompey travel to Stoke on the back of their win over Manchester City, which put them four points ahead of the danger zone.[LNB]Despite having some breathing space, Crouch insists they are far from safe and that a victory in the Potteries could be crucial.[LNB]"It's a vital match. Stoke are down there in the league with us and so we've got to make sure that we stay above them," the England striker told the club's official website.[LNB]"Going there is going to be a battle and we've got to make sure we stay focused.[LNB]"They are a difficult side to break down so it's going to be tough. They are going to be fighting for their lives but so are we and hopefully our quality will show through.[LNB]"We needed a win after the run of results we had, so obviously the result against Manchester City was important.[LNB]"But probably more important was the clean sheet. We all defended as a team.[LNB]"We've been unlucky at times. There have been games where we've totally dominated and then lost the game, which is pretty frustrating.[LNB]"But at the end of the day, we've got to look at ourselves - obviously we've got into the position that we're in because of the way we've played.[LNB]"I believe that we are getting back to winning ways and we've certainly got a squad that is good enough to be doing better than we are."[LNB]No complacency And Crouch insists the Pompey squad are far from complacent about the battle to beat the drop.[LNB]"People have said we've got too much quality to go down, but Jamo (David James) said the other day: 'Look at West Ham when they went down!' They had a fantastic side," he said.[LNB]"We believe we are better than the position we are in and now we need to start proving it.[LNB]"We need to get the points on the board and hopefully we can turn the season around.[LNB]"There's a buzz around the place at the moment. That comes from winning games. I know we've only won one, but it was a very important game and one that we deserved to win.[LNB]"I think that breeds confidence and we can build on that this weekend."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports