Colchester v Pompey: Gaffer for a day

Gaffer for a day Jay Simister previews today's Colchester v Pompey game.
Gaffer for a day Jay Simister believes Danny Rose, right, should keep ghis place in the Pompey team for Saturdays trip to ColchesterGaffer for a day Jay Simister believes Danny Rose, right, should keep ghis place in the Pompey team for Saturdays trip to Colchester
Gaffer for a day Jay Simister believes Danny Rose, right, should keep ghis place in the Pompey team for Saturdays trip to Colchester

I wasn’t at Crawley on Tuesday night, so am looking forward to joining in with the new Pompey song.

I’ve watched the videos of ‘On Our Way’ and it sounded a great atmosphere in that 2-0 win.

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Now we must build on that result by getting victory at Colchester.

Psychologically, breaking into the top three was huge. This time last year we were six points off the automatics with the same points – now we are in there.

It is just whether we can remain in those spots and keep progressing on Plymouth and Doncaster, while Luton have a game in hand.

I’m quietly confident we can win promotion. Forget about the league title at a time when Doncaster are having a blip, it’s just about getting out of League Two.

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The fact we are away from home tomorrow is also reason for optimism because we play better away from Fratton Park.

I would stick with a winning side and go into this match unchanged from the one which lined-up at Crawley.

Even if Amine Linganzi is available, I would stick with Danny Rose who, by all accounts, did well on Tuesday night.

I think Michael Doyle plays better with Rose beside him – the former Northampton man is more of an attacking-defensive midfielder who can pop up with some goals.

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It is tempting to leave Eoin Doyle out as he continues to struggle, especially having missed a penalty and a one-on-one in the last match.

Fans are generally very critical of our strikers and are already on his back, it has always been the case. We haven’t found a decent striker since Jermain Defoe left.

But Doyle is the sort of player Cooks likes, who can chase balls down.