Boss delighted after safety is sealed
Andy Awford has hailed his players after Pompey’s League Two status was secured.
Danny East scored the only goal of the game as the Blues triumphed at struggling Northampton.
But the Blues were already safe before kick-off at Sixfields Stadium following Bristol Rovers’ defeat to Rochdale earlier in the day.
There was no reduction in endeavour from Pompey, though, as they recorded a fifth successive victory.
And Awford was delighted with the attitude of his troops, who can now contemplate a top-half finish.
The caretaker Blues boss said: “The run we’re on is absolutely fantastic and the players deserve a lot of credit.
“They’re very confident at the moment and we’re just enjoying the success we’re having.
“It’s a fantastic group – there’s not one bad apple in there. They’ve been an absolute pleasure to work with.
“We’ve allowed them to play with freedom in the final third and they’ve paid me back with a bucket-load of desire.
“That’s something that we’ve gone on about quite a bit and we knew we’d be alright if we got that.
“Northampton put us under a bit of pressure – particularly in the second half – but every single one of them came to the party.
“When we took over the club was looking nervously over its shoulder and now we’re almost in the top half of the table, which is fantastic.”
Awford rang the changes at Sixfields Stadium, sticking with only three of the players who started the victory over Bristol Rovers two days earlier.
He said: “We didn’t pick a team to make it easy on anybody. We have to take each game as it comes and I felt the changes were needed.
“There were only 48 hours between the two games and there were a few niggles hanging over from Saturday.
“We felt it was right to freshen things up a bit and thankfully it’s paid off once more.”