Boss reflects on Crewe defeat
It was the second time in a week that Pompey fluffed their lines on the big stage.
Following on from a midweek draw with Morecambe, a home defeat to Crewe stopped them from climbing into the automatic promotion places.
George Ray’s header secured all three points for the visitors and there were not too many clear-cut chances at the other end.
And Cook did not want to make any excuses following a poor showing from his side at Fratton Park.
The Blues boss said: “We have to say well done to Crewe because they were excellent value for the win. They were comfortably the better team.
“They might have had to defend a bit in the first half, but in the second we were easy to play against.
“When we looked at the fixtures we thought we’d be in a good position by this point and unfortunately it’s not what we’d have hoped for.
“You could be up all night dissecting the performance, but we’ve taken one point in a week when people expected us to take more.
“It’s important to enjoy the plaudits when you get them, but when you get the criticism that’s being directed at all of us – myself included – you have to take that on board.
“I’ll always the shoulder the blame because players aren’t machines and on this occasion we were very flat.
“How do you from 5pm last Saturday to 5pm on this Saturday? But the dust will settle and we’ll have to be ready to go on Tuesday night.
“It can be easy to look for cop-outs as a manager, but sometimes you have to be stunned to get a response.
“So I’ll be thinking about how I’ve been let down and how I’ve let people down – hopefully that pain will provide a little bit of fire in people.”