"Pearce said: "I can see why people don't like him. He is not very pleasing on the eye and he is not silky. But in football, you have to be effective and you have to be a team player. I can only go on what I see and he was the best player on the pitch at Anfield against Real Betis so he has to be doing something correct.
"He is the right age, has the right ability and is a current England international. I was interested in him during the summer but at the time we had not sold Shaun Wright-Phillips and there was no money available.
"What you have to admire about Crouch is no matter how the game goes, or how his form is, he will not hide. He is under the microscope for England and Liverpool because he has not scored but he showed no sense of anxiety all last night and deserves great credit for that.
"From what I have been told, he is a great lad to have around. People say he has no confidence but he carried on knocking away and once he mis-hits one into the corner, he will be off and running.
"Having said that, I will dislike him intensely on Saturday and we want to stop him, even if it takes a pair of ladders!"