‘Abject, yet they still sung our names!’ Portsmouth boss on the emotions of letting fans down ahead of Sunderland clash

The Blues boss paid tribute to the loyalty of the Blues faithful who stood by him, despite being let down by their side’s performance at Burton Albion on Tuesday night.

Cowley’s side produced a desperate display as they went down to a 2-1 reverse at the Pirelli Stadium.

Yet the hardy travelling faithful stuck by their manager, despite Cowley facing criticism from some quarters.

And that backing had a big impact on the man bidding to turn around his side’s fortunes this season.

Cowley said: ‘The supporters are brilliant.

‘They were singing our names at the end of the game on Tuesday. We didn’t deserve that.

‘They’d travelled all the way to Burton for an abject performance like that - and they still sung our names!

‘It made me feel worse. I’d rather they’d got stuck into me!

‘I 100 per cent would have preferred that because of the guilt and horrible feeling you get. It was horrible.’

Cowley explained it was a late night and early start after Burton, as he and his staff set about putting things right for the clash with Sunderland.

He added: ‘We watched the game on the way home, clipped it and that took about four hours.

‘We got home at quarter to four, slept, got up at 7am came in and got to work.

‘That’s all I know. I wish I had a formula which allowed me to work less and have success.

‘But I’ve worked this way for a long time and it’s what has given me success.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

We’ve slashed the cost of digital subscriptions to our website by 50 per cent for a limited time.

You can now subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for less than 13p a day.