'Doesn't matter if they are last' - Hull City manager Tim Walter reveals stance on Portsmouth clash

Portsmouth are preparing for their next Championship hurdle this weekend, which will come in the form of Hull City. The Tigers are currently six points and 11 places ahead of Pompey, who are still looking to fight their way out of the bottom two.

With just one win on the board so far this season, John Mousinho’s side are desperate for positive results and will be hoping to tap into their performance against Queens Park Rangers to come up with a big performance on Saturday.

Portsmouth will travel to the MKM Stadium to take on Hull, who are winless in their last four fixtures. Tim Walter’s side enter the clash following a 1-1 draw with Derby County, while Pompey will hope to put their frustrating defeat to Sheffield Wednesday behind them.

Walter has confirmed that there are no new fitness updates to report on within the Hull camp but there is confirmation that Liam Millar will undergo surgery on his ACL later this month, with the team ‘looking forward to his recovery’.

Hull have scored 14 goals so far in the Championship this season and have struggled on the attacking front lately. In their last four league outings, the Tigers have scored just twice and conceded seven. However, this is something Walter has stressed his team have been working on.

“We are in a good position, we’ve spoken about critical ability and to be more clinical, you have to be more critical. But we are defending better, we are better in positioning and we are better playing forward,” the Hull boss told BBC Radio Humberside.

“We’re defending really well, we’re playing really well, our performances are really good and we deserved to win more games.”

Walter was then asked how Hull City would be approaching their clash with Portsmouth, to which he responded and stressed it was important that his team did not underestimate Pompey because of their position in the table.

“They [the players] know that we don’t underestimate the team, that’s what is clear, we don’t give an advantage to the other side. If we don’t give more than 100 percent, we can lose every game in this league, because it’s such a tough league.

“They are a really good team, it doesn’t matter if they are last in the table. For us, it’s hard to analyse them and to play against them. We are really down to earth because we want to win every game but we have to prove it every time.”

Portsmouth will kick-off at the MKM Stadium at 15.00 GMT on Saturday as they push for their second win of the season and some crucial points in the bank.