Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch was delighted to end his scoring drought in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough.

He revealed: "I rang my Dad before the game and told him that this is one of my favourite grounds.

"I have scored a few here in the past for Southampton and Aston Villa, so I fancied myself for another goal this time.

"And, I tell you what, my goal was certainly a much better finish than my darts on Soccer AM. I had 78 attempts and still did not hit the bull. I have got a great excuse for that, though. It is that I do not spend any time in pubs because I am a model professional!"

It has been a tough couple of months for Crouch, 28, what with Pompey's slide down the Premier League table and his own change of role since the Tony Adams circus left town and Paul Hart stepped in as caretaker boss for the remainder of the campaign.

He added: "I had not scored a league goal for a while but, since the new manager came in, I have had to do a job for the team playing up front on my own and getting behind the ball, helping us to get clean sheets and important results.

"To be honest, I have not had a lot of chances recently. But I always feel that, when I do get an opportunity, I will score. And this was one of those occasions."

Now Crouch aims to go on a scoring run and guide his team to safety at the end of what has been a traumatic term at Fratton Park.

He said: "I do tend to get my goals in bursts. At the start of the season I got eight in fairly quick time so, hopefully, I can go on another run now.

"But, boy, it isn't half tough playing up there on your own in this league."