Fratton return pleases Whittingham
Pompey will be keen to return to home comforts as they try to recover from a week to forget.
Three successive matches on the road resulted in an FA Cup defeat at Stevenage, a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy exit at Newport and a 4-0 league humbling at AFC Wimbledon.
But the Blues have reason to be cheerful ahead of Saturday’s Fratton clash with Scunthorpe.
They have won their last three home matches and are still only six points adrift of the play-off spots.
And Guy Whittingham knows his side have to do better against an Iron side who sacked manager Brian Laws during the week.
The Blues boss said: “A week’s a long time in football and the last two performances haven’t been good enough by our standards.
“We have to learn from our mistakes and put things right. starting with Scunthorpe on Saturday.
“My job is to remain level-headed whether we win, lose or draw and that’s what I’ve tried to do.
“We were four points off the top seven with a game in hand before the AFC Wimbledon game and now we’re six points off with a game in hand.
“The top seven is our aim and I think it’s a reasonable one, so we’ve got to try to get ourselves up there as soon as possible.
“As we saw when Bury came here last month, there’s always a reaction when a side change their manager, so we have to deal with that.
“But our form at Fratton Park has been good of late and we’ve won our last three games here.
“The squad are all looking forward to performing in front of a vociferous crowd after a couple of weeks on the road.
“Six of our final eight games of 2013 are at home and we have to try to take advantage of that.”
Pompey have been boosted by two arrivals this week, with West Ham defender Dan Potts arriving on a one-month loan and former goalkeeping coach David Coles returning to Fratton Park.
Whittingham said: “As a natural left footer Dan brings a bit more balance to the side.
“He’s an energetic young lad and West Ham think very highly of him, so we’re pleased to have him here.
“David phoned me and asked if there was anything available and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to bring someone like him in.”
Patrick Agyemang (thigh), Ryan Bird (concussion), Thery Racon (groin) and Romain Padovani (calf) are all doubts to face Scunthorpe, while Gavin Mahon serves the final game of a three-match ban.
Pompey are 11/10 favourites to beat Scunthorpe with Sky Bet and if you open an account at www.skybet.com/pompey and deposit before the end of November, the club receives £10.