Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish believes favourites Portsmouth will win the FA Cup if keeper David James maintains his magnificent form.McLeish pointed to James, who turns 38 in August, as the vital difference between the two sides after he helped end the Midlands team's unbeaten four-match run in a 4-2 Pompey win at Fratton Park on Wednesday - a day after signing a new contract that will keep him there to the end of the 2009-10 season.
Portsmouth deserved the win, which followed last Saturday's shock triumph at Manchester United when they booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley against West Bromwich Albion on April 5.
Blues boss McLeish said: "James made a fantastic save from our sub Cameron Jerome at 3-2 and if we had scored then I'm sure we would have got something from the game.
"Portsmouth to win the FA Cup? I would think so, although it has been a strange cup this year with so many shocks, but they have the quality of people like James, Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin at the back and I fancy them to take the trophy."
McLeish, of course, has only a passing interest in the FA Cup. He is more concerned with lifting Birmingham out of the Premier League relegation mire and pinpointed next Monday's home game with fast-falling Newcastle as a vital fixture.
But rival boss Harry Redknapp knows the best route to Europe now for his admirable Pompey team is via Wembley even though they have climbed back to seventh in the league - where he insists they must "keep digging out results".
James has been a key contributor to that this season, and Redknapp said: "I'm delighted he has done another deal with us, I'm well pleased.
"He's a fantastic asset to us and I wouldn't like to put a time limit on him. He's in fantastic condition and so fit that he could play on well into his forties I would imagine.
"So many other people look at him as the best English goalkeeper now and I don't think there is a better one around. I wouldn't swap him for any other, to be honest with you.
"When I took him from Manchester City I spoke to (former boss) Stuart Pearce and Steve Wigley up there and they said he had been absolutely fantastic for them that year and they could only remember him failing to save one goal that he should have saved.
"They said they couldn't tell me just how many goals he saved which he had no right to save but that's how he's been with us. The amount of points he's saved us over the last two years is unbelievable.
"He used to have a problem, I think, before with his concentration, not his goalkeeping - he would almost get bored at times and want to get into the action.
"But I think he's learned to concentrate more and knows he now has two centre-halves in front of him who can head the ball. He's learned when to come for it and when not to come."
Although Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin - the Frenchman had been in hospital all the previous day with his wife, who is expecting a baby - were not at their best against Birmingham, Redknapp should feel secure about his FA Cup defence.
Up front, though, five-goal Jermain Defoe is cup-tied and, having missed Tottenham's Carling Cup triumph because of his £7.5million move to Pompey in January, could be set to sit out two more Wembley occasions.
But it was a boost for Redknapp when injury-prone substitute Kanu notched a late goal to complete the 4-2 midweek win, the Nigerian's first strike since October.
Redknapp said: "Kanu holds the ball up and brings people into play. We needed to keep it more in the last 15 minutes and that's why I brought him on but it was nice to see the big man score.
"He has
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