Danny Cowley wants Pompey to keep their emotions in check when they suffer setbacks.
He believes that his squad have reacted too negatively to disappointment at certain stages of the season.
A key example was in Saturday’s home defeat to MK Dons, when they fell behind following a dominant opening and took a while to get back on track.
So with Pompey visiting AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday evening, Cowley is keen to see them learning from what has gone before.
The Blues boss said: “The great thing about playing for or managing this club is that every game feels like a home one.
“We have such a passionate backing and they’re so supportive of the team, but we have to learn to deal with moments of disappointment.
“For 20 minutes on Saturday we had complete control and MK Dons hadn’t been in our penalty area before they scored.
“We make a mistake, it leads to a goal and then our performance deteriorated quite significantly for a period.
“So we have to manage our emotions a little bit better because every support – and we know we have the best in the land – will go flat when you concede.
"We have such a passionate backing and they’re so supportive of the team, but we have to learn to deal with moments of disappointment."
“It’s up to us to reengage them and get them back with us, so it’s something that we have spoken about.”
Pompey’s opponents are sitting just outside the League One drop zone following a run of four fixtures without a win.
Cowley said: “I watched them at Oxford just after Christmas and saw their game against Morecambe on the video on Sunday.
“We’ve prepared to play them four times already this season – including the postponed game – and they would have done the same, so both teams know each other well.
“There’s an awful lot of respect for AFC Wimbledon – both on and off the pitch – and they have a real fizz about them at the top end of the pitch.
“We were disappointed to lose our unbeaten run on Saturday, so now we have to work hard to start another one.”
Cowley has no fresh fitness concerns him and is focusing on strengthening his squad before the transfer window closes.
He said: “It’s great to have some players who had longer-term injuries back with us and there is competition in nearly all areas.
“But we’re still working hard in the January transfer window to add to that. The tougher decisions I have with selection, the better it is for this club.”