Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin is fully aware of what to expect at the FA Cup final against Cardiff City, and as magical as the tournament goes, he is also fully aware of the threat of the underdogs in finals like these.

Distin is more than used to situations like this while he was playing for Gueugnon, his Ligue 2 side team overcome the favourites Paris St Germain with a 2-0 win at the final of the French League Cup. Eight years on, and he has yet to land any more silverware since arriving in England, playing for teams like Manchester City and Newcastle United. Since qualifying for the finals, Portsmouth has not shown much urgency in their last few league games and it might just come back to haunt them. And Distin is fast to comment that Pompey must start to improve their game in order to stake their spot in Europe next season. The winner of the FA Cup gets a ticket to UEFA Cup the following season.

Distin said that “It was a bit like Cardiff against Portsmouth - or maybe Cardiff vs Manchester United. So I have to hope that Cardiff won't have the same spirit Gueugnon had then - yet I know they will. It is an opportunity for them to prove everybody wrong because everybody thinks we are going to win. And obviously if we lose everybody apart from us will be happy because they believe that it is good for football if a small side wins. For me they are not a small side and it's going to be a tough game until the last second. But we've got to perform, not like the last month in the league. If we carry on like that on Saturday it will make it even harder than it is going to be. We need a good reaction but the way we've been playing has had nothing to do with thinking about Cardiff or Wembley too much. We just haven't performed.”

For the critics, Sylvain Distin was making a mistake when he moved to Portsmouth, but with a place in the final of the oldest football competition in the world, it has become apparent of his reason. He added that”When I signed here some people didn't say too much, but I could see in their eyes: 'Why Portsmouth?' They have the answer today. I played for Newcastle and I didn't win anything, I played for Manchester City and I didn't win anything either. At Portsmouth I'm going to play in a final for the first time in my career in England and so for me that's the most important thing. We are the big club now. When people talk about big clubs, they are usually talking about past history, but for me a big club is where the club is right now, not 20 years ago.”