Play-off defeat not relevant ahead of Plymouth clash
It was a day of anguish for Pompey fans.
The trip to Home Park promised so much, but ended in disappointment as Plymouth grabbed a last-gasp play-off winner to book their spot at Wembley.
Those travelling to Devon this weekend will be hoping for a more enjoyable afternoon this time around.
But Paul Cook is not too concerned about what has gone before and is simply focused on facing League Two’s early pacesetters on Saturday.
The Blues boss said: “Whenever you have a day like we had at their place back in May then you should only use it as an inspiration.
“You can’t change the past – what’s done is done. Last season was a year of improvement for us and now we’re looking to the future.
“It’s always better going into games on the back of a positive result and we’re looking forward to facing Plymouth.
“It’s a boring cliché, but it’s simply the next game for us. We treat every side with the same respect and try to come up with a way of picking up all three points.
“I haven’t been able to go and see them play this season, but I’ve seen DVDs and they’ve had a fantastic start.
“When you’ve won the amount of games that they have then you fully deserve to be sitting on top of the table.”
Pompey recorded their second away win of the season at Leyton Orient last week and Cook wants to see a similar level of application against Plymouth.
He said: “It was a nice victory at Orient and I thought we looked the best team on the pitch. We certainly worked harder than the opposition.
“When you add work ethic to ability then you’ve certainly got a good chance of winning football matches.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for full pre-match video content.