Portsmouth forward Tommy Smith is determined to prove the answer to his side's goalscoring conundrum this season.

The south-coast club have taken just three points from their opening nine Barclays Premier League matches ahead of their trip to fellow strugglers Hull on Saturday.

One major factor behind their slump is the fact they have notched just five league goals this term - the worst strike-rate in the top flight.

Critics have rounded on misfiring frontmen Aruna Dindane and Frederic Piquionne, but Smith is hoping he could be the man to take the pressure off the pair.

The 29-year-old netted 17 times for Watford in all competitions last season and bagged two in August prior to his move to Fratton Park.

Now he is eager to find his scoring boots in the Premier League and fire Pompey out of the drop zone.

He said: "I'd like to get off the mark. I came here in great form and I had a great season in front of goal last year.

"I got a couple this year before I came, so it would be nice to get one and I'm sure that would start the ball rolling."

Smith has thrown his support behind Ivory Coast international Dindane, who missed a number of clear-cut chances in Pompey's 2-1 loss at home to Tottenham last Saturday.

The former Watford man is confident the Fratton Park faithful have not seen the best of the Lens loanee.

He said: "He's a good player - I've enjoyed playing with him. Aruna came here and he wasn't fit - he had obviously been injured for a while and hadn't trained.

"I think there are still better and better things to come from him. He's showing bits of it in training and he's going to be a good player for us.

"He's quick, he's strong, he has a good touch and he is creating some chances. Aruna is a player I think I can link up well with."

Given the club's poor start to the campaign and well-documented off-pitch problems, Pompey are among the favourites to suffer relegation.

Paul Hart's side are currently four points adrift of safety and Smith know they must stop the rot soon, although he reckons being the underdogs has its advantages.

"It's hard," he admitted. "But on the other hand it drives you as well because people are writing you off and expecting you to lose."

Smith added: "We want to get out of the bottom three - not just get out of bottom spot.

"It's something we're aiming to do and we don't want a big gap between ourselves and the rest of the table - that is important."

With Hull just four points and two places better off, Smith concedes Saturday's clash at the KC Stadium will be classed as a relegation six-pointer.

But he insists Pompey will not be placing any extra importance on the encounter.

He added: "It's a very big game but so is every game for us at the moment.

"It's one we're looking forward to and we can't wait for the game to come around. Our confidence is high, even off the back of the loss.

"We played so well (against Tottenham) and if we play like that, we know things have got to change.

"I think we've had a couple of six-pointers already, or so people keep telling me.

"To be honest, that's something the press like to write about and it's not something we think about."