Diamond could be Pompey's best friend

But the Pompey boss will only make the switch if he has the players to use the approach.

Cook has given an insight into his thinking about how to create greater attacking impetus moving forward.

Pompey went with a diamond at times towards the end of the campaign.

The 49-year-old broke down his thoughts about the type of attributes needed to make the formation work.

And stamina in the middle of the park is fundamental to its success, in Cook’s view.

He said: ‘We could play a diamond at home.

‘It’s what we played at Wimbledon and we tried it a bit against Northampton.

‘But you have to be careful.

‘It’s not so much the two strikers, it might be the way the full-backs push on.

‘You’d have two up top and a player behind them.

‘You’ve got a defensive midfielder and then the other midfielders have to have massive energy.

‘They need to be athletic and be able to run.

‘Because when our two full-backs go they are committed.’

Cook is looking at ways for Pompey to trouble sides on the front foot.

And getting more players in dangerous areas is the fundamental way of doing that.

Gary Roberts is an obvious candidate to operate at the tip of a diamond in an attacking position.

Cook underlined it’s all about getting more attacking threat into his Pompey options.

Cook said: ‘We have to have a lot of players going forward.

‘So if you have a Gary Roberts behind two you are going to be lively.

‘We want to play with more players up front.

‘We’ll have more firepower.’