Nathan Thompson knows that pre-season results often have no bearing on how a team fares once the competitive action begins.
So the right-back is certainly not fretting about Pompey’s 3-2 friendly defeat to Stevenage on Saturday.
Gareth Evans had opened the scoring at Broadhall Way, but three goals for the hosts turned the contest on its head before Conor Chaplin notched a late consolation.
And while Thompson was frustrated by the result, he is more concerned about the League One opener in three weeks.
He said: “We switched off, started to concede possession in sloppy areas and stopped doing the basics.
“We were dominating the game, but they made 11 changes at half-time and looked a little bit fresher than us.
"Don’t get me wrong – we want to get into a winning habit, but it’s not all doom and gloom, that’s for sure."
“The second goal we conceded was from our own throw and I hold my hands up for the third one because I didn’t move my feet quick enough to stop the cross coming in.
“It’s obviously disappointing not to come away with the result we wanted, although there are still positives we can take.
“That was the first 90 minutes for some of us and it’s important that we build that fitness up for August 4.
“I was in a successful team that got to a play-off final and I don’t think we even won one friendly that year.
“Don’t get me wrong – we want to get into a winning habit, but it’s not all doom and gloom, that’s for sure.
“We’ve got two more pre-season games and it’s important that we iron out those mistakes, so that we’re sharp by the time of the Luton match.”