Danny Cowley had demanded a response from his side – and that is exactly what he got against Rotherham.
A poor League One display at Cheltenham on Saturday had left fans, players and staff alike feeling frustrated.
So a Fratton clash with the high-flying Millers was a daunting process and yet the hosts rose to the challenge.
Goals from Clark Robertson, Marcus Harness and George Hirst saw the points collected in comfortable fashion.
And Cowley wants to see similar showings from Pompey during the final few fixtures of the campaign.
The Blues boss said: “We let our supporters down on Saturday and were pleased to respond with what was a good performance.
“Rotherham put a lot of pressure on you and so you have to work hard to play your way out of that to exploit the spaces.
"I don’t want to get carried away and we now have to go and back it up because the games keep coming."
“But we were able to do that and hurt them, going on to score some nice goals, particularly the second one.
“There was Gavin Bazunu’s throw, George’s timing to take and receive the ball, shake off two defenders and put in a sublime cross, and Marcus arriving to finish.
“I don’t want to get carried away and we now have to go and back it up because the games keep coming.
“It’s a huge ask for our players to be ready to go again on Friday, especially when Lincoln have been able to rest.
“The three who came off all did so with injuries and so we’ll have to see how they recover over the next few days.
“Michael Jacobs just felt his hamstring tighten up, Marcus felt his knee a bit and it was the hip for Louis Thompson
"I don’t think any of them are anything particularly serious, but the matches come around so fast. We'll wait and see."