Boss Kenny Jackett rejects Portsmouth Jekyll & Hyde comparison ahead of MK Dons visit

The comparison was put to the Pompey boss on the club’s own YouTube channel following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Fleetwood.

It also arrived after the Blues dropped out of the top six, with the reverse at Highbury the second time in consecutive games the Fratton Park outfit have lost on the road at a promotion rival.

Those two recent defeats have stunted Pompey’s impressive form since the turn of the year.

Prior to the loss at Coventry on February 11, the Blues were on a record-breaking nine-match winning run – form that catapulted them back into the automatic promotion mix.

Victory against Exeter in the semi-final of the EFL Trophy helped soften the blow of that Sky Blues loss at St Andrew’s.

But straight away, further doubt was cast on Pompey’s promotion credentials when Joey Barton’s Cod Army delivered a sucker punch at the weekend.

Speaking to the club’s Johnny Moore ahead of tonight’s game with MK Dons, Jackett refused to accept the colourful notion that his side has two different sides to their play.

Instead, he believed his team’s excursions against Exeter, plus a week that incorporated a second trip to Fleetwood since the turn of the year, had simply caught up on them.

Responding to the Jekyll and Hyde question, Jackett said: I don't think that's the case.

‘I just thought Saturday, we didn't really have our full energy.

‘It was still close, but similarly by our own standards, I don't think we played well on Saturday.

‘I thought there was no lack of effort or commitment – the players were really having a go, right the way through, which did keep it close.

‘But, similarly, I felt after Tuesday night, we just didn't quite have that yard.

‘I thought Fleetwood were just maybe a yard sharper than us, and if we had had everything about us, our full energy, we would have been able to create more than we did.

‘I did think it reflected the week we had, to be honest with you.

‘Although, as I said, in terms of the players, they tried everything they could.

‘We just couldn't really get going, particularly as a force going forward.

‘Our usual game is to try to get the ball wide, get good situations, get good crosses in, get people in the box, and it didn't work that way.’