Powell: We didn't play well in win over Pompey

The former England international oversaw Saturday’s comfortable 3-1 victory over Pompey.

It represented four wins and a draw from his opening five matches since replacing Phil Brown as manager at Roots Hall.

An own goal by Matt Clarke and two from Jason Demetriou saw off the Blues, who had Nathan Thompson dismissed during the second half.

But, by his own admission, the winning performance was not as impressive as Powell had hoped for.

He told the club’s official site: ‘We didn’t play well and that’s the strange thing, but on the flip side we found ourselves 2-0 up and I felt there was a lot more to come from us.

‘I must admit, it’s the end of a three-game week and it takes a lot out of you in terms of travelling, etc, etc, and maybe that played a part in our start.

‘For me, Portsmouth had a bit of the ball but I don’t remember Mark Oxley making too many saves, so really it was just about game management.

‘Of course, conceding a goal before half-time made it a bit edgy and we knew Portsmouth would come out and try and push us back.

‘But I thought Michael Turner and Anton Ferdinand played really well and were clever in their defending

‘Can I complain? Absolutely not. The players have been superb with their efforts for each other and they’re enjoying their football and so they should.

‘I keep saying to them, it’s what you do, and it seems like they’re listening to me at the moment and long may it continue.

‘Now I’m a bit disappointed about Tuesday’s result (goalless draw with Bury) because I just think we’ve been exceptional.

‘Seven points from three games, two big sides (Wigan and Pompey) coming here to Roots Hall and we’ve beaten them both 3-1.’