The heat of the Premiership relegation battle is starting to reach red hot proportions with eight games remaining. With Sunderland all-but relegated it appears to be a three-way battle for survival between Portsmouth, Birmingham and Albion. Pompey's recent run of two straight wins has hauled them back into contention but neither Birmingham nor Albion can string a run of results together. Goals have been a major problem for both sides and Mikael Forssell is currently joint top scorer at St Andrew's with seven. It has been a long process of rehabilitation since his knee operation last season but, as he told givemefootball's Ian Clarkson, he is convinced the good times are about to roll once again.
Q:HAS YOUR CONFIDENCE SUFFERED BEARING IN MIND YOU WENT SUCH A LONG TIME WITHOUT A PREMIERSHIP GOAL?
A:I have never had lack of confidence. It is more about getting control of my body and getting fitter. I am healthy but now I need match fitness. The more I play the better I will get. I am scoring too, as I have now scored something like five in nine games. I am getting there but hopefully the best is yet to come.
Q:SCORING GOALS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THE TEAM THIS SEASON HASN'T IT?
A:It has been one of the problems but not the only one. I have had to look at myself and I have had a disappointing time but mostly because I have been getting back to full fitness. But I don't want to look back all the time. I am training hard and working on my fitness to better myself. We try and improve every day as a team. We put the effort in on the training pitch and look at the Pro Zone statistics. It then comes down to individuals. I prepare the best way I can and hopefully the goals will come that will help the team. Saying that we have to defend as a team better as we have let loads of goals in. We have to score but getting 0-0 is always a point and we haven't had too many of those.
Q:HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF RELEGATION?
A:I haven't thought about relegation. Your performances will start changing if you think about relegation. If you do, then you will be afraid, and fear isn't the answer. You have to be confident. I don't mean being arrogant in not understanding the situation but the feeling has to be genuine that we want to make it better. We need to keep calm and composed. Thinking about relegation and adding extra pressure won't help the situation.
Q:HAVE YOU FELT UNDER PRESSURE TO SCORE GOALS?
A:I don't feel pressure as I always put the biggest pressure on myself. I have got the biggest expectations as I am looking to score a hat-trick in every game. I want to win every game. Being out for a year is a long time and I know that people find it difficult to understand but stopping for a year means a minimum of six months and probably a year. What has slowed me down has been a series of injuries such as a thigh strain and a calf strain. I have strained my thigh a couple of times, so that is when you are concentrating on your body. When you are thinking about something that isn't quite right that is when the performance isn't there.
Q:HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT NEXT SEASON YET?
A:I don't think about next season as things can happen personally and with the team very quickly. The most important thing is to take it one game at a time. I know what I have done in the past and I have no regrets about coming here. We are doing everything we can to get out of this situation.
