Gaffer: Rasmus Nicolaisen came of age at Hull and he needs to take Portsmouth chance

Top of the league. How does it feel?

It’s nice, even though we’ve been here before and it didn’t amount to anything!

Clearly it’s a step in the right direction, but as we know it chops and changes through a season.

It’s obviously exciting seeing your team at the top of the table, you have to be lifted, but it doesn’t bother me being top at Christmas because there’s a long way to go and it’s tight.

I hope we can finally get promotion this season, but I really can’t call it. I see 12 teams genuinely challenging for the two automatic spots.

How do you rate the performance?

It was professional, solid and although we didn’t score any of the goals we made Hull look average!

Watching Pompey play, I reckon you can beat us by sitting off, rather than attacking and allowing us to use the counter.

Instead we were in control and deserved to win it. Hull themselves only had one shot on target.

Funnily enough, it was an entertaining boring game. I found it went by really quickly.

Which players stood out for you?

Sky gave man of the match to Tom Naylor and to be fair it was close, but I’m going for Sean Raggett.

I’m his biggest critic, I really am, but he didn’t put a foot wrong and I loved his focus in that game.

I don’t dislike him, he’s a League One defender and such players are in League One for a reason, mainly consistency and decision making.

At Hull, his positioning was superb, he defended for his life, while was calm and confident on the ball.

On the flip side, Ronan Curtis needs to stop believing his hype.

What about Jack Whatmough having coronavirus?

I have no doubt he will be fine, but it is a concern that it could be spread among the squad, considering they are in such close contact.

Then it’s about who replaces him in the short-term – and I thought Rasmus Nicolaisen came of age at Hull.

For me, Nicolaisen is almost too good for League One, which then makes him look quite bad when he tries deft touches.

There was a poor clearance at one point, but he didn’t do a lot wrong. It was the best game I’ve seen him have for us.

It could be a pivotal moment for him this season. We don’t really have any other available centre-backs, so this is a chance he has to take.

Craig MacGillivray 7

Cam Pring 7

Rasmus Nicolaisen 7

Sean Raggett 9

Callum Johnson 7

Ryan Williams 6

Tom Naylor 8

Andy Cannon 8

Ronan Curtis 4

Marcus Harness 7

John Marquis 5

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