Boss looks ahead to Morecambe clash
It was a victory that dragged Pompey right back onto the brink of the automatic promotion places.
But Paul Cook is not getting carried away by a convincing 3-0 triumph over Carlisle in Cumbria.
With a midweek match against Morecambe to turn his attention to, he feels that complacency is their biggest obstacle.
And whatever the outcome, Cook knows that a lot can still happen between now and the end of the season.
The Blues boss said: “It was three points, but we move on now because we’ve got another big game on Tuesday night.
“There are 14 games still to go and the time to look back is after you’ve played all of them.
“Anybody who feels that it’s all done and dusted is wrong – there’s so much football left to be played.
“So teams that think they’re doing well should be careful and well done to those who are trying to improve.
“We want to get as many points as we possibly can and then come the end of the season, whatever will be, will be.
“If you travelled back from our game at Barnet then you might think the world is ending and if you travelled back from Carlisle then you might think we were promoted.
“But as a manager you’ve just got to stay somewhere in the middle and keep a level head.”
Pompey face a Morecambe side who have lost just once in 2017 to climb to within five points of the play-off spots.
Cook said: “They’re a very dangerous side to say the least and are on an absolutely amazing run of form at the moment.
“Jim Bentley knows this league as well as anyone and they’ve also got some good players, which always helps. They’ll be wanting to win just as much as us.
“They’ve obviously had issues of the pitch, so great credit to them for being in the position they are.
“It would be easy for them to make excuses and fall away, but they certainly haven’t done that.”
Gary Roberts’ Brunton Park opener on Saturday was named the top strike of the weekend in League Two.
Cook said: “I’m not sure there’s many people in this division who can score goals like that.
“He hasn’t had enough of those moments for our fans – and Gary accepts that. But class is permanent and he repaid those who have stuck by him.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for full pre-match video content.