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DISTIN FEARS FOR CITY OLD GUARD

Distin - feels for former team-mates.

Sylvain Distin stands by to lead Portsmouth against his suddenly mega-wealthy former club Manchester City on Sunday and admits he feels for any of his old team-mates who fail to find favour with the new regime.

The tough Frenchman believes the sun is about to shine again on City at last - but it will mean some of their old guard being dumped in the shade.

With the Abu Dhabi United Group's £200million takeover almost complete, vast riches are available for team-building ambitions which must have been beyond the wildest dreams of new manager Mark Hughes when he arrived from Blackburn in June.

Yet Distin insisted: "It's great for the club and the fans but from the players' point of view it's a case of when the sun finally shines they will be pushed aside because big names are going to be brought in.

"There are maybe five or six still there from my time with City and some of them were there ages going through tough times with me.

"But now when you see players like Robinho coming in and hear the names of who else City want to sign, then it means some of them won't be playing any more."

In July last year centre-back Distin, 30, rejected a new contract after five seasons with City to become a free agent and took a better offer from Pompey.

He followed goalkeeper David James who made the same journey a year earlier and won back his England place with a string of superb Pompey performances.

Distin's decision was justified by the south coast club winning the FA Cup, qualifying for Europe and achieving the club's highest Premier League finish of eighth.

Now, despite City being ready to splash the cash and threatening the Premier League's top four with a rash of high-profile signings in the January transfer window, Distin insists he has no regrets.

He admits: "I know what it is like. When you have a lot of frustration after a few years then finally you have a good takeover and someone who has the power to buy who they want and push the club forward.

"But I was happy with the move I made to Portsmouth and, hopefully, winning the FA Cup and getting into Europe is only the start for us."

Pompey kicked off their first UEFA Cup campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Portugal's Vitoria Guimaraes on Thursday at Fratton Park and Distin, who is set to take over the captain's armband if Sol Campbell, 34, is rested on Sunday, says they must aim to build on that.

He said: "If you asked anyone last season if we would win the FA Cup they would say no but this is not like a season where you play 40 games and anything is possible.

"If you have the quality which I think we still have at the moment we can do well in the UEFA Cup and the league and FA Cup again.

"Of course it is going to be very difficult but if we stay focused and fit, who knows?

"The only reason everyone works hard every day is to win trophies. You can finish second but nobody remembers that at the end of your career.

"What people count is only the number of trophies you have under your arm."

Pompey boss Harry Redknapp, who could also rest wingers John Utaka and Armand Traore and revert to the more solid system which brought nine away league wins last season and a 3-0 triumph at Everton earlier this month, says: "Mark Hughes must be wondering what has hit him with all the money coming in at City.

"But when you have the opportunity to buy top players you don't turn it down. They are already a side with great flair, they have got Robinho, they have got Jo plus Shaun Wright-Phillips and Elano, the other Brazilian who was the big signing last year.

"But we still feel we can have a go at them because we are in good form with three wins in a row and although going far in the UEFA Cup is something we really want, the Premier League is still, long term, the number one for us."