PORTSMOUTH boss Harry Redknapp today admitted he spurned the chance to sign Blackburn Rovers' new goalscoring sensation Jonathan Stead.

Redknapp sent his scouts to watch the 20-year-old on several occasions while he was banging in the goals for Huddersfield Town earlier this season.

But when it came to the crunch, the Pompey chief concluded it was too much of a gamble to expect the striker to make the step up from the Third Division to the Premiership and he later joined Blackburn instead.

Now Redknapp is kicking himself after seeing the impact Stead has made at Rovers since he signed for a bargain £1 million two months ago.

Three goals in his first four games in the Premiership have breathed new life into Blackburn's survival bid.

And Stead has already received a call-up to the England Under 21 squad on the back of his recent achievements in English football's top division.

Redknapp has been impressed by the speed with which the young striker has adapted to life in the Premiership and he's identified him as a major threat to Pompey's chances of winning their first away game of the season at Ewood tomorrow.

"I had Jonathan Stead watched three or four times but Huddersfield wanted £1.25 million for him and that was a lot of money to take a chance on," said Redknapp.

"It was too much dough to gamble at the time.

"Graeme Souness then bought him as one for the future but he went straight into the side and he's done superbly well.

"He's going to pose a big threat tomorrow."

Souness has played down his role in launching Stead on the road to stardom.

When he signed him from Huddersfield during the January transfer window, Souness admitted he was taking a chance on potential.

But the Rovers boss insists there's an element of risk to any signing, whether you are dealing with an established international star or a player who has been plucked from the lower divisions.

"When you sign anyone it's always a gamble," said Souness.

"Jon attracted interest because he scored goals but there's a big, big gap between the Premier League and the Third Division and that probably put a few people off.

"These days, managers prefer to go for foreigners because they don't cost as much.

"I'm sure every manager would want an all-British team if possible but that's never going to happen because it's often easier to go abroad these days."

Stead will look to add to his tally when he lines up against Redknapp's Portsmouth tomorrow.

The former Terrier is currently in red-hot form after scoring in last week's 2-0 win at Aston Villa but Souness is keen to make sure his young protege does not carried away by the recent publicity his goals have generated.

"Jonathan is a young man who is still finding his feet in the Premier League and in his first four games he's done very well," said the Rovers boss.

"But it's important that both him and Paul Gallagher don't start getting their big heads on.

"A lot of footballers these days get too much, too soon.

"We are all guilty of doing that with our own children and it happens in football today as well.

"If a player has a few good games or scores a few goals then he suddenly becomes a great player.

"But to me great players are people who have done it over 10 seasons."

In the meantime, Rovers will attempt to take maximum points at Ewood for the first since late November tomorrow.

Three wins from 14 home games is a poor return for a side which began the campaign with serious ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League.

In contrast, Rovers' away form has been excellent and their victory at Villa was their fifth on the road this season.

"You tend to find the teams at the bottom have a record more like Wolves' and Portsmouth's in that they're usually okay at home but poor away," said Souness.

"However, we've been the opposite of that.

"We've now won five away this season and only Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have done better than that.

"That tells me we are not intimidated when we go away but we have been poor in our concentration at vital times."

Portsmouth, meanwhile, have really struggled on their travels.

They currently boast the worst away record in English football having taken just two points from the last 36 away from Fratton Park.

"Portsmouth haven't won away all season and we haven't won a home game since November so something has got to give," added Souness.

"We've got to make sure we have the same determination not to get beaten as we did at Villa Park and then try and build on that.

"We started well last Saturday. Garry Flitcroft led the charge with some quality challenges, which put them on the back foot early on and we then kept them there. We now need a similar performance again."