Former Fratton favourite reveals major Portsmouth relegation concerns as season spirals out of control

And he highlighted their defensive deficiencies as a key factor in their slump and the 3-0 defeat to Bolton.

The Blues’ season continued to unravel at the University of Bolton Stadium, where they fell to their sixth loss in nine games in all competitions.

A run of just one win from their past 15 outings in League One has seen them go from second to 15th in just four months.

Their latest disappointment represents the lowest point of their campaign to date, with just seven points now separating interim boss Simon Bassey’s side and the drop zone.

Of course, Pompey are still in the hunt for a new head coach following Danny Cowley’s sacking almost two weeks ago

As they continued their worrying free-fall down the table, the defeat at Bolton saw the travelling Fratton faithful jokingly chant about ‘going on a League Two tour’ next season.

However, Whittingham believes those fears could become reality if results don’t change and a new appointment is made imminently.

When asked if relegation is now a major concern for the Blues on BBC radio Solent, he said: ‘Absolutely.

‘Whoever’s looking at this and thinking of taking over has got some hard work to do first of all to get this team turned around.

‘In terms of being consistent in games, defending well, building from that base and making it hard for the opposition to score goals, but also being able to in some way be more creative going forward.’

Defensive errors in the build-up to two of Bolton’s three goals on Saturday wrote off Pompey’s chances of picking up maximum points for the first time in three months.

And Whittingham has insisted the Blues’ defending has been a major factor in their recent downfall.

He added: ‘(They) just couldn’t defend properly this afternoon. It was too easy for Bolton to score their goals, really poor defending.

‘Second half, (they) produced more opportunities in the box for themselves but by then they were 3-0 down.

‘Even then, although Bolton conceded those opportunities, they made it hard for Pompey to score.

‘That’s the problem at the moment is that Pompey aren’t making it difficult for the opposition to score goals.’