Marcos Painter reflected on his whirlwind week and told Pompey fans: I want to win your respect. The Blues’ new recruit has promised to bring the commitment and tough tackling the Fratton faithful demand. Painter delivered a sound debut following his arrival at the club last week. The former Brighton man was a key figure as Guy Whittingham’s men picked up their first clean sheet of the season in the 3-0 win over Morecambe. That was at the end of frenetic week as Painter inked a deal until January and celebrated his 27th birthday. Now Painter wants to bring more of the solidity he delivered on Saturday as he aims to impress. He said: ‘I pride myself as a defender on clean sheets. ‘I do like a tackle. I think it is a thing the Portsmouth fans would respect. ‘They like to see you giving your all and I want to please the fans because they have been through a lot. ‘They are great fans to play for. I’ll always be trying to impress them and the staff to give my best, because that’s what I do. ‘I give 100 per cent every time I play. ‘To get a clean sheet was exactly what was asked of me and the rest of the back four or five, including the goalkeeper. ‘I know I’ve only been training with the lads for a few days but if we can keep clean sheets our lads up front will definitely get goals in midfield and attacking areas because we are so strong in those areas. ‘If we do our job at the back we are halfway there because there’s plenty of goals in this team.’ Painter knows exactly what is needed to win leagues after enjoying success in his career at Swansea and Brighton. He is adamant the foundations of good sides are formed on defensive strength. Painter said: ‘If you look at the most successful teams in every league and season you will see their defences are pretty strong. ‘I’ve experienced two championship-winning sides with Swansea and Brighton in League One and I know the main thing for us was keeping clean sheets. ‘We had one of the best defensive records both seasons. ‘That’s a platform to build on. Things seem to take care of themselves once you are solid at the back. ‘The gaffer recognises that. ‘He’s got a lot of new players in that he feels can step up to the challenge.’ Painter turned down offers to play at Championship level to join Pompey. He said: ‘For me it was a no-brainer coming here. ‘People can say “yeh, they’re in League Two now” but everyone knows what fanbase we’ve got. ‘Even before I joined I knew what potential Pompey have got. ‘I had offers from other clubs. I was speaking with my family about moves and I just didn’t feel anything. ‘When Portsmouth came in I just had that feeling it was the right club to go to. ‘It was my debut and it is a good start that we now have to build on.’
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:03:28 +0000
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