James on track for quick return

Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has been handed a major boost with the news that David James' calf problem is not as bad as first feared.

England goalkeeper James suffered the injury in the warm-up before the defeat at Stoke last month and was initially expected to be out until Christmas. However, he has made good progress and Grant is monitoring the 39-year-old ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash against Burnley.

"David James' recovery is much quicker than we thought because he's professional and working every hour of the day, doing his best to be fit, and his progress is much better than we thought," Grant said.

"We thought initially it would be four weeks, but it will be a lot less."

The Burnley clash at Fratton Park is seen as a must-win game by Pompey's players after they were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Aston Villa on Tuesday night.

"We have to believe and be positive," said veteran striker Kanu. "We've got to lift our heads up and get the result we need.

"We've got to come away with the points against Burnley because that's the game that's going to determine what's going to happen in the league.

"It's a winnable game. We can play football, but sometimes you have to play less football to win games. That's the difficult thing. But let's keep playing football and hope our luck changes."