Cheltenham Town break 16-year record as Derby boss claims they beat three sides to big signing

After six seasons and two failed play-off attempts, Portsmouth fans are growing increasingly optimistic about their chances of winning promotion from League One. John Mousinho’s team have been the outstanding side in the division and they are now just 12 games away from securing their place in the Championship for the 2024/25 season.

This weekend’s fixture sees Pompey square off against a Charlton team, desperate for points as new manager Nathan Jones searches for his first victory since arriving at The Valley.

Pompey will hope to maintain their outstanding record which has seen them pick up a league best of 22 points from their last 10 games. The league-leaders face a challenging schedule in March with games against Oxford, Blackpool, Peterborough and Barnsley all to come and they will hope to enter that challenging run of games in high spirits.

Ahead of a crucial weekend of League One action we take a look at all of the main headlines from the division.

Cheltenham break 16-year League One record as they aim to beat the drop for the third year in a row

League One relegation strugglers Cheltenham Town are looking like a rejuvenated outfit in recent weeks after a series of strong performances. The Robins came back from behind twice against fellow strugglers Port Vale as manager Darrell Clarke celebrated a 3-2 victory against the club that he used to manage.

The result marked Cheltenham’s third consecutive league victory after impressive wins over both Blackpool and Cambridge United. The Robins are now just a point away from safety with two games in hand on fellow strugglers Charlton and Shrewsbury Town.

Clarke has hailed his side’s character to secure the victory and claimed their recent run has been a great achievement. He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “That’s the first time since 2008 that the club has won three times on the spin in League One - that tells you that the club’s not been in League One that often. It’s a little record to be proud of from the current squad, so (I am( really pleased with that but it’s all done and dusted now.”

Cheltenham travel to Wigan Athletic in tonight’s league match. The Robins, who were promoted in 2021, have never previously spent more than three consecutive seasons in the third tier.

Derby boss claims they beat three clubs to big signing

Derby County added experience to their squad this month as former Newcastle United and Peterborough star Dwight Gayle arrived on a free transfer.

Gayle has a great track record in the Football League, but struggled for form at Stoke City during his 18 month stay. Despite his recent drought in front of goal, manager Paul Warne revealed that Derby were one of three or four clubs interested in the striker.

Ahead of the game against promotion rivals Barnsley, he added that Gayle will be in the squad and prepared for selection.  The ex-Rotherham boss added that the striker is settling in very well to his new surroundings. He told the club website: “He’s a good kid. I met him and I could meet him as he was out of contract so I could be really flippant with my conversation. I knew there were three clubs after him. I explained what we do and how we play and what our culture is like. He has trained well.

“He has settled in well; we're pretty pleased. We’ve just got to be a bit careful at the moment as he hasn’t done a lot of training in the last four weeks. He will be in the squad and prepared for selection. The dressing room is amazing, so he's settled in alright and it shouldn’t be too heavy of a shirt for him to wear.”