Boss hails victory over Crawley
Pompey had left it late to secure victory in their previous two league outings.
But any nerves ahead of their Fratton clash with Crawley soon evaporated thanks to a scintillating first half display.
The hosts netted three times in the opening 37 minutes to move up to fourth spot in the embryonic fourth tier table.
Curtis Main bagged a brace – his first goals on the south coast – while Gary Roberts continued his prolific streak with a neat finished sandwiched in between.
Cook was delighted with how his side fared and his challenged the squad to keep making improvements.
The Blues boss said: “We won the game early and it was a terrific team performance – probably the best first half display since I arrived at the club.
“I thought we were electric and everything I wanted us to be. It looked like we had 12 men on the pitch at times.
“We restricted Crawley to very few penetrations into our half and scored some good goals at the other end.
“Curtis looked like the player that we signed – his movement, mobility and desire to score were fantastic.
“The quality of player that we’ve got here is there for everyone to see, but we won’t get carried away.
“We had a bit of criticism after the first couple of games, but I still don’t think we can say we’ve cracked it after six matches.
“We’re working hard every day to get better and as long as you do that then you’ve always got a chance.”
Cook also explained that Crawley’s style of play convinced him to stick with the usual 4-2-3-1 system.
He said: “The game was made for us and that’s why we didn’t change. We did our homework and it was a big result against a team that will win a lot of games this season.”
Gareth Evans was forced to play at right-back after Drew Talbot joined Adam Buxton and Calvin Davies on the injury list, but excelled in an unfamiliar role.
Cook said: “I felt that our full-backs were our two best players because they were a threat for the full 90 minutes.
“We’ve had a few injuries and if you didn’t know Gareth then you would think he’d been playing that position all his life.”
Watch Cook’s thoughts on the game below or subscribe to Pompey PlayerHD for full post-Crawley content.