Boss hopes for better at Mansfield
They say that a week is a long time in football.But Pompey fans experienced the full gamut of emotions in the space of just four days following games against Accrington and Newport.
The first was a magnificent performance and victory against promotion rivals, while the second was a drab display and defeat at Fratton Park.
And ahead of Saturday’s visit to Mansfield, Paul Cook knows that his side have to show more consistency in order to reach their goals.
The Blues boss said: “The day couldn’t have gone any worse last weekend, but that’s the way football can go sometimes.
“We went from one of the best performances one of my sides has ever given to one of the worst.
“But there are 10 games to go and we’re talking about a team that could still be promoted automatically.
“If we did that then everyone would be jumping up and down, so I think some of the criticism is unfair.
“I didn’t tell everyone how good we were after beating Accrington and I’m not going to tell everyone how bad we were after losing to Newport.
“It’s the teams that overcome these disappointments the quickest that are the ones who will go up at the end of the season.
“There is such a huge prize ahead and there is a lot to play for, so the challenge for the players is to shake off the inconsistency.
“That might require changes in personnel – I’ve shown unwavering loyalty to some players and maybe I’m questioning that belief.
“But we’re just moving on to the next game and looking forward to facing Mansfield this weekend.”
The Stags have dropped to 11th place in the League Two standings after losing three successive matches.
Cook said: “It will be a difficult game because they’ve had an excellent season and will still have aspirations of reaching the play-offs.
“We’ll find out at 5pm on Saturday whether there’s been a response to what happened against Newport.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for extended interviews with the manager and Danny Hollands.