A couple more of these won't go amiss
Even the most devoted of Paul Hart fans will find it difficult to defend the genial manager if Pompey come away with anything less than a point this Saturday.
With Bolton sitting one place above us, having played one less but with the same number of points, in this case zero, this really is a home game that we should be winning.
Mind you, Fulham and Brum should also have given up a few points, instead they helped contribute to Pompey's worse start in 51 years. It's not all Hart's fault though. He's been managing a team that ‘til recently occasionally resembled some of the non league teams we played pre-season. Only a spirited performance against Rangers giving the faithful any reason for cheer.
On paper at least, the recent additions seem half decent. With the exception of the strike force which is largely unproven and in one case, bizarrely unfit, the rest of the team has experience in depth and in places might even bring a smile to even the most cynical of faces.
Attention as ever though will turn to Hart's choice of formation and in particular how we play the front line. We can't continue to hope for draws or a bit of luck to award us a late winner, because as has been shown in the past, that type of luck can go either way and Pompey certainly don't have an exclusive supply of good fortune.
If we don't come away with a point I suspect the board will be looking hard at the situation. Whilst it's true that this will be the first game where most of the new additions are available, ending Saturday with no points from 5 games will set alarms bells ringing amongst the fans, even if doesn't amongst the board.
Play up Pompey, time to show that famous fighting spirit that this Club is famous for. Let's go on the attack, we'd rather lose with our heads held high than continually lamenting what might have been if we'd approached the game with the intention of winning rather than not losing.
Oh and by the way Paul Hart. Now that it has been confirmed that Kiddo has gone to City, you really do need to bring in a number two to help out. We saw how Adams reign got off to a bad start as he pondered and then chose badly - you can't afford a similar slip up. Be bold. Go for someone that's going to get stuck in and make a difference. This isn't a time to be worrying about the long term effects of bringing in a strong personality that might bruise a few egos.
Play up Pompey - The only way is up!