Stone warns of tricky times ahead

Portsmouth winger Steve Stone has warned Harry Redknapp’s side to expect a tough winter as the reality of life in the Premiership begins to hit home.

After three straight defeats, Portsmouth’s bright start has slipped and they are now just three points off the relegation zone, leading Stone to demand more new faces.

“We’re going to need more players when the transfer window opens again in January,” Stone said.

“Probably another couple at least because there is a long cold winter ahead if we carry on as we did against Charlton in the last 20 minutes.

“We have to strengthen and I think we will because, after Christmas, as well as the inevitable injuries, suspensions come into play. All clubs get them and only the bigger squads survive.

“You must try to progress all the time. You can’t afford to stand still. I don’t know if it will be just loan-signings we make but we must add some more numbers.

“I look at what Steve Bruce did at Birmingham last season when they were struggling in their first year in the Premiership. He brought in four or five halfway through and they stayed up comfortably. Now they are doing really well.

“We have enough quality here to survive at this level but it is what could happen to players that is worrying – and who there is to replace them. It doesn’t get any easier when you are bit older like some of us.”

The first cracks are beginning to appear now in Pompey’s first top-flight campaign for 14 years, although they were unfortunate to lose against Charlton yesterday.

Teddy Sheringham’s sixth goal of the season put Portsmouth ahead and they should have scored more before Charlton boss Alan Curbishley pulled off a master stroke in sending on substitutes Paolo di Canio and Jon Fortune.

Fortune stabbed an equaliser with 12 minutes left when Pompey failed to clear a long throw and di Canio earned a stoppage-time corner when forcing Shaka Hislop’s first serious save of the match.

He took the flag-kick himself, landing the ball on the head of unmarked Shaun Bartlett who nodded the winner.

Curbishley had nothing but praise for di Canio, who he admitted was not impressed to have been left out of the side to face Liverpool.

“He means a lot to us and people shouldn’t take too much notice that he’s not always been in the side,” said Curbishley.

“He was disappointed to be out against Liverpool but he was not 100% when he joined us and I fast-tracked him into the three previous games.

“But he shared the pleasure of that victory with us and he’s happy with the one at Portsmouth, too. In fairness I could have put him in on in any position at any time in the first half because we were so bad.

“But thankfully Portsmouth scored only one goal and we were left with chances to come back. We pushed three up and Paolo, in that situation, will always give defenders problems.”

Redknapp, who admitted last week he still regrets not signing di Canio again, added: “Although he has fantastic ability it was our defending that did for us in the end. We have to deal with simple set-pieces because the goals we gave away were scandalous.

“But it is not as though I’m sitting here with a squad going nowhere. I can sleep at night because I know we have enough quality to stay up.”

Redknapp admits midfielder Alexei Smertin has a knee injury that “doesn’t look good” after he was substituted in only the 26th minute.