Portsmouth No1 James hails steely Liverpool ace Torres

Portsmouth and England goalkeeper David James has hailed the steel in Fernando Torres' game.

James said of the Liverpool striker: "Fernando Torres, as he proved last weekend with the clock seemingly running out, is capable of producing some magic and is an outstanding player.

"He's sharp, strong and his youthful looks are just a facade when it comes to his playing style – he's as physical and aggressive as some of the more hardened players people talk about.

"As European Champions, I'm sure they will be looking to extend their run of success, which we want to mirror or even surpass in the next 18 months. But we are confident and have a level of belief, which has possibly been missing in the past.

"The difficulty is, as good as Fernando can be, when you get drawn to one player, it ends up being another one who scores the goals or becomes a problem. They have a lot of good players."