Former Wolves, Wigan and Derby ace pinpoints key Portsmouth difference amid recent slump

A disappointing 2-0 defeat against Wycombe on Sunday condemned the Blues to their fifth successive League One contest without a win.

This has seen them pick up maximum points just once in their past 10 outings in the division, which has seen Danny Cowley’s men drop to eighth in the standings and two points adrift of the play-off places.

Yet it comes in stark contrast to their start-to-the-season form, as Pompey shot out of the blocks in the opening weeks.

This saw the Fratton Park outfit go unbeaten in their opening nine matches of the campaign, sitting pretty at the top alongside fellow early high-fliers Ipswich.

But with league wins proving hard to come by for the Blues in recent weeks, the injured Jacobs thinks he knows why this might be the case.

He told Sky Sports: ‘We’ve had a couple of decent results in the cup competitions in the Papa John’s Trophy and the FA Cup and got a great tie against Spurs in the next round.

‘But the priority for us is to get back our performances in the league and start picking some points up.

‘After such a good start to the season it’s obviously frustrating to see where we’re at now.

‘We kept a lot of clean sheets, especially away from home, and it made our lives a lot easier. We were able to nick a goal here or there and we’d get the three points.

‘But we need to get back to that resilient defensive line, having a few more opportunities and putting a few more in the back of the net.

‘Hopefully we can get ourselves back in the mix.’

Jacobs has been a key loss to Cowley in recent weeks, with the attacking midfielder’s last appearance coming in their 3-0 defeat at Charlton.

Indeed, the former Wigan man has been absent with a hamstring injury sustained during his 15-minute cameo appearance at The Valley in October.

The 31-year-old had been tipped to make his comeback against Wycombe but was chosen to co-commentate for Sky Sports as part of their ‘Access All Areas’ initiative with the game coming too early for the injured star.