Defender pleased with pre-season victory
Jack Whatmough believes Pompey are in a positive frame of mind ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.
The Blues ended pre-season with a 2-1 victory over League Two side Crawley at a rain-soaked Broadfield Stadium.
A brace from Brett Pitman – which included a fine free-kick – overturned Thomas Verheydt’s early opener.
And Whatmough was pleased with the way Pompey recovered from a slow start to eventually take control.
He said: “We made life tough for ourselves in the first half and perhaps tried to force things a bit too much.
“The way we dealt with their set-pieces let us down massively, but it was a totally different game after the break.
“We started to control things and got our two goals to come away with the victory we were looking for.
“Tom Davies and I were more aggressive and we didn’t let Crawley win as many headers as we had in the first half.
"We go into the Rochdale game at Fratton Park next Saturday in a strong mindset and with a winning mentality."
“There was more composure and the end result is that we’ve only lost once throughout pre-season – and that was against a strong Bournemouth side.
“So we go into the Rochdale game at Fratton Park next Saturday in a strong mindset and with a winning mentality.”
A minor calf injury for Christian Burgess gave Whatmough the chance to audition for a place in the side for the League One opener.
He said: “It’s a massive game in a new league for the club – and a new league for myself.
“Hopefully I’ve done enough during pre-season to get into that squad and if not I’ll just have to work even harder.”