Bullish Portsmouth boss eyes overhauling victors Hull and Lincoln despite promotion setback

But Kenny Jackett is adamant the Blues possess enough matches to overhaul recent conquerors Hull and Lincoln.

Morgan Rogers’ 79th-minute finish condemned the Blues to a 1-0 Fratton Park defeat last night.

The match wasn’t without controversy, with referee Sam Purkiss showing Jack Whatmough a straight red card following a first-half tackle of Jorge Grant.

It meant the Blues had to play an hour with 10 men, yet ultimately they were defeated, despite plenty of endeavour.

Following Saturday’s 4-0 hammering at the hands of Hull, Jackett’s men have now slipped down to fifth.

Yet the Blues manager points out they are currently at the halfway mark – with 23 fixtures remaining.

Jackett said: ‘We never like losing, we are frustrated at losing against anybody. That’s been two vastly different games with no points out of them.

‘We have to learn our lessons and realise we need to do better – and then put it to good use in what is now half a season ahead of us.

‘We have to keep pace, catch them up, be competing at the top, all of those things. That’s where we want to be.

‘I definitely think we can catch the sides at the top. There’s a lot of the season to go, that’s 69 points, a lot to play for.

‘If we can win a good percentage of those then I do feel we can be challenging. We’ve got players who are capable as well.

‘That’s two Fratton Park losses in a row now and, looking at last season before lockdown, we were unbeaten at home. Without fans, though, it does change, both home and away.

‘Without the crowd it evens up much more. Obviously that benefits us away – and we’ve had some big away wins too.’

Lincoln’s victory takes them back to the top of the table, three points clear of Hull.

As for Pompey, they are four points short of second place with a game in hand, with a trip to sixth-placed Charlton on Saturday.

And for Jackett, in last night’s defeat there were encouraging aspects.

He added: ‘There were a lot of good things about last night, the spirit, the organisation, defending – and still at the end retaining a threat with some balls into the box.

‘Ultimately we lost the game and are frustrated at that. We have to learn why and exactly what we need to put right, but there were some good performances.’

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