JLLOYD Samuel says Bolton must act immediately to stop the rot after setbacks against Newcastle and Fulham.

Wanderers go to Fratton Park tomorrow and the former England Under-21 international insisted: "I know it is only two games but we need to turn the corner now.

"We've got to make sure we don't lose again.

"It's never easy going to Portsmouth but then again it is difficult on any away ground."

However, Samuel said that it could take more time to adapt to the changes being implemented by Sammy Lee.

"Sammy wants to get the ball down and try to play football," added the left back.

"He has come in and is trying to change a lot of things. That's going to take time to settle in.

"We've changed the formation and we've got to adapt but adapt to it quickly."

Lee may introduce a third different central defensive partnership to face Pompey.

The Bolton boss hinted after the 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage that Andy O'Brien may be handed a debut against his former club.

And Samuel knows Wanderers must become tougher to break down.

"The first two games have been quite strange," he said.

Soft

"Against Newcastle we didn't really get out of the box until the second half when the game was finished by then.

"Against Fulham we were on top for most of the game but conceded some soft goals again.

"The set-pieces let us down again. We still have to strengthen up as a team.

"We've got to dig in and try to be more resilient. We had our chances but we didn't take as many as we should have done.

"Overall the performance against Fulham was better than the opening game and so we've got to take the positives."

Despite the defeats, Samuel has no regrets about moving to Lancashire.

"I'm enjoying myself at Bolton. There is a very happy atmosphere," he added.

Bolton did the double over Harry Redknapp's side last season with Kevin Nolan striking the winner at Fratton Park.

Kevin Davies, Ricardo Vaz Te, Stelios, Ricardo Gardner and Joey O'Brien are all unavailable through injury while Abdoulaye Faye looks to be on his way to Newcastle.

However, Ivan Campo and Christian Wilhelmsson still have to feature this season so Lee isn't short of numbers as he looks to secure his first Premier League win as Bolton boss.

Meanwhile, manager Harry Redknapp will conduct a parade of Portsmouth’s walking-wounded before selecting his team.

Sol Campbell, Noe Pamarot, Gary O’Neil and Dejan Stefanovic remain major doubts for the game.

Midfielder O’Neil (ankle), centre-half Linvoy Primus (knee operation), Stefanovic (groin) and Nico Kranjcar (broken foot) have yet to start the season - while new captain Campbell (groin) missed the 1-1 draw with Manchester United, as did rightback Lauren (ankle).

Redknapp fears he could be down to a bare squad of 16 senior players and looks certain to recall Matt Taylor to the starting line-up and give Martin Cranie, 20, another outing in defence. New £7.2 million signing Sulley Muntari is banned for his sending-off against United.

Bolton Wanderers (from): Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Meite, Faye, O’Brien, Cid, Samuel, Wilhelmsson, Nolan, Speed, McCann, Alonso, Braaten, Harasayni, Diouf, Anelka, Helguson, Al Habsi, Sinclair.

Portsmouth (from): James, Lauren, Cranie, Distin, Hreidarsson, Campbell, Taylor, Traore, Utaka, O’Neil, Pedro Mendes, Davis, Hughes, Mvuemba, Benjani, Nugent, Kanu, Ashdown.

Last season: Portsmouth 0 Bolton 1

Key opponent: John Utaka - Looks like a good buy from Redknapp and Bolton will have to be on their guard

Prediciton: Portsmouth 1 Bolton 1 - It looks like a tough ask on paper but if the Trotters work hard they should earn a point

Agree with the prediction? Have your say.

You can get 17/2 on Bolton winning 1-0 with Betfred. For this and more odds, click here.

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