Bradbury hopes to pack a punch

PORTSMOUTH striker Lee Bradbury will appear in the dock next month to face a common assault charge following an alleged fracas outside a nightclub.

But before he can find time to make a case for his defence, he must first throw his weight behind Pompey's attempts to get themselves out of jail.

For the fifth time in six years, the ailing south coast club find themselves entering the final week of the season with their First Division status hanging by a thread.

And, after veteran goal-poacher Steve Claridge recently jumped ship to join Millwall's Second Division promotion push, Bradbury is the man charged with delivering the goals to get his team out of the mire.

On paper, the odds are stacked firmly in favour of another Rovers victory at Ewood tomorrow.

Relegation-haunted Pompey have won just once on their travels all season and, even more ominously for manager Graham Rix, they have never won a live game on Sky in 11 attempts.

However, Bradbury insists they are more than capable of making a point ahead of their do-or-die relegation clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

"We need to go up to Blackburn and get a point tomorrow then we can return south in the box seat ahead of our biggest game of the season against Crystal Palace next week," said Bradbury.

"Blackburn are going for that second automatic place so it's going to be tough but I think we can go there with confidence after our recent performances against Birmingham and Fulham. "We created some great chances against the champions so I don't see why we can't do the same against Blackburn.

"They'll be pushing forward with them being at home so we'll be trying to do what we did at Birmingham and catch them on the break.

"But, the way it's shaping up, it could be that the Palace game ultimately decides who goes up and who goes down.

"It certainly looks like it's going to depend on that.

"Hopefully, they'll lose against Wolves today and we'll then get a point at Ewood because I'm desperate to avoid the drop.

"I've been relegated before with Manchester City and that was a terrible experience.

"We won at Stoke on the last day but Portsmouth then put us down by winning at Bradford.

"So I suppose it wouldn't be Pompey unless it came down to a drama at the end of the day."

Meanwhile, Rix is confident Portsmouth can bury their Sky hoodoo and take a major step towards securing their Division One status in the process. "It's frightening when you work out the different permutations but we've just got to focus on ourselves and what we've got to do," said Rix.

"The important thing is it's still in our own hands.

"It's not as if we aren't making the chances, we've just got to show more composure, confidence and belief in front of goal.

"The lads certainly look sharp and ready. We know it's going to be difficult at Blackburn but I'm still confident.

"They are a good team, there's no doubt about it, but we're not going there to make up the numbers. I know they want promotion but we are desperate to stay in the division.

"And we want to show everyone what we can do."