Joe Morrell can understand the frustration felt by the Fratton faithful after watching an abject display against Leyton Orient.
Pompey conceded a trio of goals in the first half – and saw Colby Bishop’s penalty saved – to fall to a 3-0 defeat.
It means they have now won just one of the past six league games, although still sit at the top of the table.
And Morrell knows that it is up to the players to bounce back from their poor run to make sure they remain in the promotion hunt.
The midfielder said: “It’s obviously not a happy dressing room and that’s a performance I think people would say is uncharacteristic.
“We’ve fallen below the standards we’ve set this season and so of course we’re all feeling disappointed.
"We’ve all said this season how good this dressing room is and now is the time that we find out if that’s the case."
“The damage was done in the first half and if you don’t score after the break – which we didn’t – the second almost becomes irrelevant.
“We conceded from two set-pieces, which is where we’ve been so strong previously, and were all over the place at times.
“When we watch it back, we'll see we were on the wrong side of fine margins and that caused us some big problems.
“We’ve all said this season how good this dressing room is and now is the time that we find out if that’s the case. I’m sure we’ll come through it because I still really believe it.
“I understand the supporters being concerned because they’ve seen it before, but the league table suggests we’ve still got some credit in the bank.
“We’re certainly not resting on our laurels, though, and it’s about how we all react to this spell of adversity.”