Danny Cowley is hoping that Pompey’s next fixture can survive the cold snap that is sweeping the country.
They are scheduled to make the long trip north to face Accrington on Saturday for a final away match before Christmas.
The home side have made sure to protect their Crown Ground pitch, with overnight temperatures plummeting to well below zero.
And Cowley is keeping his fingers crossed that it will be enough to ensure the League One contest can go ahead as planned.
The Blues boss said: “The last communication we had with Accrington was that they had put covers on the pitch.
“They’ve had some particularly cold weather up there over the past couple of nights and so we hope the game will go ahead.
“We want to play on Saturday – particularly after the disappointing display against Wycombe last week. You want to get that out of the system.
“I think Accrington will look at the pitch on Friday morning, so I’m sure a call will be made off the back of that.
"They’ve had some particularly cold weather up there over the past couple of nights and so we hope the game will go ahead."
“We’re going to be leaving to travel up pretty early. The covers are on our pitches because we want to do a session, then get the coach to London to get on the train.
“It’s never easy to win on the road in League One and John Coleman has done an amazing job at Accrington over a number of years.
“They’re an incredibly competitive and physical team, so you have to make sure you’re in the right place to perform at your best.
“It’s probably easier to go there now than it was a few years ago, though, because they’ve had a new pitch and new changing rooms – which were historically pretty small and cold!
“Everybody at that club, from the chairman to John and his staff, as well as the supporters, have done a brilliant job to become a side that have consistently performed well in this division.”
Cowley is confident that one recent departure from the treatment room will be ready for selection this weekend.
He said: “It’s obviously great to have Joe Morrell back from the World Cup and Michael Jacobs is available as well, which is a big positive.”