GILLINGHAM skipper Paul Smith and team-mate Guy Butters have issued a double warning against paying Portsmouth play-maker Robert Prosinecki too much respect ahead of the clash at Fratton Park.

Player-manager Andy Hessenthaler is considering changing formation and deploying Mark Patterson in a man marking role to curb the influence of the 32-year-old Croatian maestro who will play in a withdrawn role behind front runners Peter Crouch and Mark Burchill.

Smith, whose duel for control with the former Real Madrid and Barcelona star, is seen as crucial to the outcome of the game, said: "I don't think I'm going over the top when I say that Prosinecki is a legend.

"If someone had said to me two years ago that I would be playing against a player of his class, I would have laughed. He has to be the best player in the entire Nationwide League but I don't think we should be over awed.

"The way we play is down to the gaffer and if he changes formation we'll respect his decision. But our shape has been good and I think we're more than capable of coping with Prosinecki."

Butters, who lives in Portsmouth and is only too aware of Prosinecki's impact at the club, could be on the bench against his former club should fellow defender Adrian Pennock fail a fitness test on a rib injury sustained in training this week.

Butters said: "He is far too good for Division 1. But it would be a mistake to pay him too much respect because we're more than capable of handling him. I would think we'll concentrate on shutting down the supply to him."

Butters, whose last senior appearance was in January at Bournemouth, believes he is near full fitness on the road to recovery after tearing knee ligaments and bruising a bone.