Burgess happy with Clarke pairing
There are partnerships beginning to develop all over the pitch for Pompey.
And Christian Burgess feels that he has already forged an impressive working relationship with Matt Clarke.
The defensive duo both arrived in the summer – the former from Peterborough and the latter in a loan switch from Ipswich.
But the pair have conceded just one goal in three league games, including a goalless draw at Crawley on Tuesday night.
And despite the lack of experience as a centre-back pairing, Burgess believes their understanding is strong.
He said: “We felt pretty secure at Crawley. They played with one up top – like Plymouth did – and we didn’t have too much to deal with.
“What we did have to do, we did well. Matt made a cracking last-ditch tackle and it would have summed up the night if that had gone in.
“He’s only 18, but he’s very mature and has looked very strong in the air. We’re learning about each other in every game.
“The partnership is going really well and I think it’s probably going to improve with every match.
“But we’re strong overall defensively. The full-backs get forward well and Adam Webster showed what he could do in the Derby match.”
Burgess was disappointed that Pompey could not claim all three points after dominating possession against Crawley.
He said: “It was frustrating. We played some good stuff, but they set up to get a draw.
“They got men behind the ball, while we stayed patient and created some good chances that we probably should have put away.
“There was one early on and if that had gone in it would have changed the whole game.
“It’s a bit disappointing, but we’re still unbeaten and so we’ll keep going and look to keep improving.”