CALUM DAVENPORT has already decided he wants to stay at Sunderland beyond this season – and he hopes keeping Peter Crouch quiet tonight will help seal the deal.

The two players with similar body-shapes face each other at Fratton Park tonight with Sunderland looking to clinch the three points needed to keep them in the Premier League.

And having spent five months with Crouch at Southampton four years ago, the Sunderland defender believes subduing the England striker is key to emerging from the south coast with a crucial result.

“Peter used to change next to me and we used to have a bit of banter,” said Davenport.

“We are almost the same age, he’s 27 and I’m 26. Everyone knows his strengths. He gets in the box and not only can he head it he has decent feet. He brings people in to play and he will be a real handful.

“I have had a few more injuries than he has had. When he was down at Southampton he had a spell of about six months where he banged in a few goals and ended up getting a fantastic move to Liverpool.

“It shows that if you believe in yourself 100 per cent you will get the breaks. He gives something different for whoever he plays for, including England. He played in the last game and scored. For me he is a top footballer who scores goals. You want those sort of players in your team. He would be in my England squad every time.”

Davenport spent the first five months of 2005 on loan at Southampton – making 13 appearances – and witnessed Crouch bang in 13 goals during that time.

And while the gangly striker’s form was not enough to keep the Saints in the Premier League, they proved enough to convince Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez to pay £7m for him at the end of the season.

Crouch has gone on to become a regular in the England squad, while Davenport has struggled to hold down his club place.

Having made Sunderland his seventh club at the age of 27, the centre-back hopes to make his loan move from West Ham permanent at the end of this season.

“I have enjoyed it and I would like to stay. I enjoy coming to the training ground to train and work,” said Davenport.

“The results haven’t been what I expected but that’s football. I just have to get on with it and see what happens in the summer.

“To be fair I haven’t heard anything yet about whether they want me to stay. The club are fully focused on the games that are left. Anything transfer wise will be dealt with in the summer.”

Davenport moved from Tottenham to Upton Park for £3m in January 2007 but has been loaned out to Watford and now Sunderland after making just 12 league starts for the Hammers.

The Bedford-born defender is now looking to settle and take his career to the next level, after enduring frustration at both Tottenham and West Ham and hopes Sunderland will be the club to fulfil his wish.

First, though, Davenport is concentrating on keeping Sunderland in the Premier League. Having won 4-1 at Fratton Park on Boxing Day with the Hamers to maintain a personal unbeaten record at the ground, Davenport is hoping that run continues.

“I was going to keep my record quiet,” said Davenport, who also drew on New Year’s Day 2007 with Tottenham and scored for Coventry in a 1-1 draw in October 2002.

“These things can come back to bite you on the bum. I have scored down there and I had a good result there with West Ham earlier in the season, we won 4-1. Hopefully that will continue. I have played there three or four times.

“Portsmouth will be looking at it thinking we have Sunderland at home and we can get a result. You know what the crowd will be like, when you do go there. We just have to be ready for that.”