Boss looks ahead to Yeovil trip
It has been more than three months since Pompey last lost a game on the road.
And Paul Cook will hope they can continue that impressive run at Huish Park in the final fixture of 2016.
The game was brought forward from the Saturday to give both sides more time to prepare for their respective Bank Holiday Monday contests.
Cook believes that was the correct decision, but expects his side to be worked hard by a 13th-placed Yeovil outfit.
The Blues boss said: “It’s common sense for the game to be on the Friday and I’m surprised that all clubs haven’t done the same thing.
“Yeovil might have thought it would affect the gate, but when you look at the numbers travelling from Portsmouth that’s clearly not the case!
“We’re facing a side who have had an excellent season and are only a few points outside of the play-offs.
“There are a lot of threats in the team and Darren Way has done a fantastic job in the infancy of his managerial career.
“It will be a very tough game for us, but hopefully we can come away from there with all three points.
“Every game provides a different challenge – as we saw at Newport – and we have to be ready for whatever way it goes.”
Pompey will have reached the midway point of their season after facing the Glovers and Cook believes they can be confident about what lies ahead.
He said: “The group’s getting stronger and I like to think that in the second half of the season we can take more points than we did in the first.
“Managers are only as good as the players in their squad – and I have great faith in mine.”
Pompey will be without top scorer Gary Roberts against Yeovil after the midfielder also missed the Boxing Day win at Newport.
Cook explained: “Gary was always getting a break after the Hartlepool game. He’s played a lot of matches and is a very committed lad, but needs to recharge his batteries.
“Players of his quality don’t get dropped. He’s had a little rough patch and when he comes back refreshed it will make us stronger as a club.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for full pre-match video content.