Christophe: 'I was settled at Southend'
Still only 22, Jean-Francois Christophe was warming the bench at Orient Tuesday but believes he has a Premiership future and may have been a bit too quick to leave Pompey in light of their present problems!
Christophe spoke to www.tribalfootball.com: "Harry Redknapp gave me a two year contract after a couple of weeks training and I enjoyed my time at Portsmouth. However, when I was at the club there were a lot of top players there, so it was difficult for a youngster to break through. Though now it's a little different! It's crazy when you look at the players that have been sold! Who knows if I had been there now, maybe I would have been given more of a chance."
He wet on to talk about signing for the Shrimpers: "I was on loan there first and after my second month the opportunity arose for me to sign permanently. To be honest, I had heard of interest from other clubs. But I was settled at Southend and saw no reason to upset the balance."
Since then he's become part of a French cartel at the club with winger Francis Laurent and, hopefully to be continued in the New Year, Sunderland loanee centre-half Jean-Yves M'Voto.
Christophe continued: "He's a nice guy! At first he was a little shy but after a couple of weeks he came out of his shell and me and Francis and me used to hang out with him all the time."
He's also impressed with the full-back on loan from Wolves, young Scott Malone: "I don't know him that well but we had a good laugh at the Christmas Party together. As a footballer though I think he's a very good left back and I think he'll go far."
Jean-Francois starting against Chelsea and Man. U?: "That's my ambition yes. I want to play at the top level and you have to work towards that - which in my case is the Premiership. I think it's the best division in the world and I am doing everything I can in order to end up plying my trade there one day."