Kenny Jackett's admission over Portsmouth's form as they chase Hull and Lincoln

Kenny Jackett admitted Pompey need to pick up the pace if they are to seal automatic promotion.
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The Blues boss has delivered a clear assessment of what’s needed for his team to make the Championship at the halfway point of the season.

And Jackett feels his team need to more than double their current 41-point total if they are to make it into the top two.

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Jackett said: ‘I think so (Pompey have to pick up the pace).

‘The top two is going to be in the 80s somewhere.

‘I don’t know exactly where but the top two are 80-plus somewhere.

Kenny Jackett (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)Kenny Jackett (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Kenny Jackett (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

‘We’re in a good position and it’s all about what we do moving forward.

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‘Nobody is too far ahead of us and, as ever, it’s competitive at the top end of this league.

‘We’re one of the sides who have an opportunity and it’s down to what we do going forward now.’

After frustrating defeats to Hull and Lincoln, Pompey find themselves four points off second spot as they go to Charlton.

Jackett can see shortcomings in his team’s performances which have to acknowledged, but he feels the key now is to look forward to the challenge ahead.

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He added: ‘We’re disappointed with the past two games. They were vastly different games, but we feel there are things we feel we can do better and have been doing better. We have to get back to that.

‘We haven’t been creating the type and amount of chances we have.

‘Credit to the players for how they reacted to going down to 10 men so early on Tuesday, they were unlucky as well to not get a point.

‘But we can do better, even in the first 30 minutes of Tuesday.

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‘We’re not out of it - we’re in there. So it’s what we do now moving forward.

‘The last two games were vastly different but we have to learn from them.

‘There has to be an accurate assessment, but then we have to look forward positively.’

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