Derby County boss sends Portsmouth warning as promotion rivals handed fine

Portsmouth remain in control of their own fate at the top of League One, just a handful of wins away from securing promotion back to the Championship. Pompey have enjoyed a superb season so far, and nine points ahead of Bolton in third, John Mousinho's men could be just three or four games away from sealing a top two spot.

There is still business to take care of, though, and all concentration will be on hitting the ground running on the other side of the international break. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding Portsmouth and their rivals.

Warne on Pompey chase

Derby boss Paul Warne says he and his men are still 'chasing down' Portsmouth in the promotion race despite the most important factor being keeping third place below them.

“Boringly [preparing] the same way we have from day dot really,” Warne told Derby’s official website. “46 games, we treat every game the same, we prep the same every game.

“Like we haven’t achieved anything, so we’ve still got a lot of points to play for, 21 is an excessive amount to play for plus we’re still trying to chase down Portsmouth above us. So we’ve got loads to play for and if anyone thinks we’ve achieved anything then they’re insane.”

Bolton fined

Elsewhere, Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers have been fined for a confrontation during their meeting on February 27. During the game, the two sets of players clashed, leading to a mass confrontation.

Wigan beat Bolton on that occasion, during Portsmouth a favour, and the scrappy incident has led to Wigan being fined £5,000, while Bolton were fined £2,500. The commission found that Bolton were "marginally more to blame for what happened", but because Wigan had been found four times for misconduct previously, their fine was increased.