Boss looks ahead to Carlisle clash
The 2015/16 season is now entering the home straight.
And it promises to be a tense and exciting period on the south coast, with Pompey still very much in the hunt for promotion.
With eight games to go, the Fratton faithful will hope their side can either break into the top three or at least remain in the play-off places.
But Paul Cook does not want to look too far past this weekend’s home clash with Carlisle.
The Blues boss said: “It’s a bit of a guessing game with how the sides around you are going to do at this stage of the season.
“But it all comes down to how many points we can get – there are 24 still available and there will be an amount that gets you up.
“We still have a chance of going up automatically and we if get into the play-offs then we could have a Wembley appearance, which would be fantastic for everyone.
“But there’s also the possibility of not getting in the play-offs at all and all three are options at the moment.
“For me, though, the focus has to be on Carlisle and trying to pick up all three points on Saturday.
“Our players aren’t robots and there will be inconsistencies in their performances, but we need to keep working hard.”
Carlisle are currently sitting four points outside the top seven and beat in-form Bristol Rovers on Easter Monday.
Cook said: “They’ve had an excellent season, despite having runs in both cup competitions and seeing matches called off because of the terrible flooding.
“So to still be in with a very realistic chance of getting into the play-offs shows what a good job Keith Curle has done up there.
“He’s building a decent side and their performance against Bristol Rovers on Monday was excellent.
“We’ll certainly have our hands full, so we have to make sure that we impose ourselves on the game.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for extended interviews with the manager and Ben Davies.