Pompey 1 Stevenage 2: Gaffer for a day

That was typical Pompey, they don’t have the character or fight. Michael Doyle is a leader but I don’t see many others out there.

We have too many flair players like Kyle Bennett and Carl Baker, who flit in and out of matches too often.

We will probably go to Grimsby and win so we think they are Real Madrid again.

We are a play-off team who will win more than we lose, but cannot fight when it matters,

Who shone for you?

Michael Smith is my man of the match, he won headers he didn’t previously and, when playing like that, is a handful.

Mind you, the referee was no help, Smith must have had his shirt pulled 20 times and in the first minute was elbowed.

As for David Forde, for that first goal he didn’t set his feet, instead crossing his legs like a schoolgirl.

I have never seen that shape in the goalkeeping manual, I must look it up. In fairness, he does come well for crosses.

And the dressing room bust-up?

It must have been bad for them both to be substituted – and that cost us.

We weren’t great in the first half, but it was comfortable, with the crowd right behind the players.

I’ve mentioned before about Christian Burgess not clearing the ball and have noticed every time it happens Michael Doyle has an argument with him.

At Cambridge United, Forde had a pop at Burgess and Doyle was the peacemaker.

I noticed towards the end of the first half on Saturday, Burgess headed clearances straight to an opponent 10-yards away, so that possibly could have started it.

How did you think that impact affected Pompey?

Everyone likes Jack Whatmough but he is a bit rusty and was in No Man’s Land for the second goal.

I don’t think Amine Linganzi is that good, he looks brilliant at times and then doesn’t know where to go with the ball. He’s not for me.

No doubt about it, without Burgess we didn’t look the same at the back, Matt Clarke went to pieces.

It affected the rest of the team, the pair of them let everyone down, especially the manager.