Substitutes can often turn games and Jason Roberts double against Portsmouth certainly did that. Yet the Blackburn Rovers striker has made precious few appearances since Sam Allardyce arrived at Ewood Park and has no idea whether his long-term future lies in the North West.

"I'll have to see," said Roberts. "The manager has decisions to make about formations and personnel. I've been here a long time and enjoyed it. Time will tell."

Roberts old-style centre forward style has won him as many friends as critics but with Alladyce indicating that he would like to see more aggression from the player, the 31 year-old’s place in the Rovers squad is by no means guaranteed. "I just do what I do and I've been playing at this level for a long time. You can't teach an old dog new tricks" he said.

Robert’s fellow Rovers front man Benni McCarthy will join up with the South Africa squad for training camp. He left London for Johannesburg despite fears of a no-show but he is expected to feature in at least one of the up-coming friendly matches.