Boss positive ahead of Cambridge test
There are issues at both ends of the pitch for Paul Cook to deal with.
But he believes that it should only take some tinkering to put Pompey back on the right path again.
They travel to Cambridge this weekend sitting five points adrift of the final automatic promotion spot in League Two.
And Cook is hopeful that his side can soon click into gear and achieve another positive run of results.
The Blues boss said: “The first half against Notts County last week was, in my opinion, some of the best football we’ve played since I came to the club.
“But when you’re as dominant as we are then you simply have to be in the lead at half-time.
“The reasons why we get beaten are that we give cheap goals away and are not taking enough of our chances.
“We’ve worked on both of those things during the week and I think we’re very close to being a good team.
“I can only say what I think and I believe something will happen soon that can kick-start our season into something we all want.
“But I look at Guardiola having not won in six games at Manchester City and I wonder why I fret so much!”
Cambridge – managed by former Pompey midfielder Shaun Derry – made a dreadful start to the campaign, failing to win any of their opening eight league games.
But they have improved in recent weeks and Cook feels that a promotion challenge is still within reach.
He said: “It’s a very difficult game and at the beginning of the season we highlighted Cambridge as one of the teams to beat.
“I’m sure Shaun would be the first to admit that they’ve been disappointed with their start, but now they’ve picked up the baton.
“There are a lot of games still remaining, so they’ve got plenty of time to get up and running and they’ll probably think of the play-offs as a realistic challenge.
“They’ve got a really strong squad with powerful players and we know it will be a very tough test for us on Saturday.”