by Neil Weld
Joel Ward says the Blues are full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s clash with promotion-chasing West Ham.
Both sides go into the match on the back of FA Cup defeats.
But Pompey received plenty of credit despite a 4-0 loss at Chelsea, while the Hammers were knocked out by League One Sheffield Wednesday.
Ward wants to see the Blues play to a similar standard against a West Ham side who sit second in the Championship table, level on points with leaders Southampton.
And the 22-year-old is hoping that Pompey can extend an unbeaten home run that currently stretches to seven games.
He said: “We played really well at Stamford Bridge and it was a harsh result – 4-0 flattered Chelsea a lot.
“But we came off the pitch with our heads held high and can take a lot of positives from the game.
“Now we have to produce a similar performance against West Ham in the league, although hopefully with a better result.
“We want to keep climbing the table and finish the season as high as we possibly can.
“We’re on a great run of form at home and we want that to continue – we’ll do everything in our power to make sure that it does.
“We’ve been working on staying solid in training. We’ve shaped up well as a unit in recent games and have been picking up points.
“We’re locking out teams and have been really difficult to score against and we have to keep doing that if we want to move forward.”
There could be a several familiar faces at Fratton this weekend with former Blues stars Matt Taylor, Gary O’Neil, Papa Bouba Diop and Frederic Piquionne all currently at West Ham.
“There are a few former Pompey players in their side,” said Ward. “But we’ll be going out to try to make life as difficult as possible for them on Saturday.”