Defoe so glad he moved

Striker hails Pompey switch

Last updated: 3rd September 2008

Jermain Defoe England press conference

Defoe: Pleased

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Jermain Defoe has again hailed his own decision to move to Portsmouth.

The 25-year-old was speaking after linking up with the England squad ahead of the World Cup double-header with Andorra and Croatia.

Defoe has found himself a regular selection under coach Fabio Capello - whose reign has coincided with the striker's move to Pompey.

The striker was struggling at Tottenham with Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov ahead of him in the pecking order.

Defoe sealed his move to Fratton Park and has not looked back since scoring ten goals in just 15 league starts.

"I have benefited from moving to Portsmouth and I am so glad I made that

decision," said the 25-year-old.

"I was at Spurs for three-and-a-half years and most of the time I was really happy. I had some great moments there.

"But towards the end, it started to get difficult. There comes a time when you need to move on, play football and be happy again. That is what happened to me."

Defoe admits he is a different player when he is full of confidence, as he is now.

"I think most people would describe themselves as confidence players," he said.

"When you are playing well, you feel confident and believe you are going to do well in games. That is the kind of form you want to take into international matches."

Croatian revenge

Defoe is looking forward to the double-header and admits England are very much looking to get some sort of revenge on Croatia - who knocked The Three Lions out of Euro 2008 in qualifying.

"It is hard to put into words how I felt after the second Croatia game when we had been knocked out," he said.

"I was sitting in the dressing room and it just felt surreal.

"I could not believe what was going on. You look round and see the players we have and it just made it worse.

"I watched some of the games this summer but it was very hard. I don't want to get that feeling again. We owe Croatia one that's for sure."