Danny Cowley is proud of Pompey’s long unbeaten record at Fratton Park, which stretches all the way back to January.
But he knows maintaining that will be a stern test, with Derby visiting the south coast for tonight’s televised contest.
The Rams are back on the right track after suffering severe financial issues that played a big part in their drop into League One.
And Cowley is not surprised to see them mounting a challenge to make an immediate return to the Championship.
The Blues boss said: “It was great to see Derby get taken over in the summer because I really feared for them.
“As someone who loves football, you never want to see a club suffer in the way that they have in recent years.
“Now they’re showing their intent and have a squad full of Championship – even Premier League – experience.
“They’ve also got a new manager in Paul Warne who’s a serial promotion winner from this division and we anticipate them finishing high.
"It’s all about the collective and our supporters can be really proud of their contribution because we certainly wouldn’t be unbeaten for so long without them."
“These are great games and the kind that you always look forward to. We love playing at Fratton Park and are really proud of our unbeaten record there.
“We know that if we want to maintain that, we’ll have to be at our very best – that’s the challenge awaiting us.
“It’s all about the collective and our supporters can be really proud of their contribution because we certainly wouldn’t be unbeaten for so long without them.
“For me, there’s no better place to play football than Fratton Park – particularly under the lights – and nobody comes to our home and gets an easy ride.”
Pompey currently have a few players in the treatment room, but there is some encouraging news about one of them.
Cowley explained: “Louis Thompson is back on the grass and ahead of schedule, which is great news. We spoke about a return in January, although are hoping that might now be December.
“That’s a huge lift for everyone because I know as soon as he got the injury that we would miss him. You always will when you lose your best players.
“He’s such an infectious character – on and off the pitch – and has the unique ability of being liked by everyone.
“The injury count is tough on us at the moment, but it’s a challenge that we have to do our best to overcome.”