Boss not concerned after successive cup defeats
The last two matches have seen Pompey exit two different cup competitions.
But Guy Whittingham is not about to press the panic button.
A six-match unbeaten run was followed by defeats at Stevenage in the FA Cup and Newport in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Pompey are only four points adrift of the top seven, however, with a game in hand ahead of Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon.
And Whittingham does not want his players to forget that they have taken 11 points from the last 15 available.
The Blues boss said: “Two defeats in a row can make you think that you’re not doing as well as you should be.
“But we’re four points off the play-off places and we’ve played a game less, so it isn’t that bad.
“We’ve got 16 new players in the group and we always said it would take time, but we’re doing okay.
“We told the lads not to think that there is anything drastically wrong – because there isn’t.
“We have to remind ourselves of how well we’ve done in the league because we’ve been on a good run and looked tight at the back.
“We’re not blind to the fact that we didn’t defend well at Newport, but we dealt with that on Wednesday and now we’re preparing to face Wimbledon.
“So we’re concentrating on going there and putting in a good performance. If you do that then usually the result takes care of itself.
“Wimbledon have started well and, although they’ve slipped down the table a bit, we’ll have to concentrate. It will be a tough test.”
Ricardo Rocha has recently returned to train with Pompey, but Whittingham has ruled out signing the Portuguese defender.
He said: “Ric asked if he could come in and train and I think it will be a great advantage to us.
“It’s not a case of him signing – I think he’s looking to go somewhere else in January.
“But we’ve young centre-halves here and he can pass on his experience to them. That’s something he’s happy to do.”