Gaffer: We used to be friends - the new hyped-up rivalry between Portsmouth and Plymouth is bizarre

It does baffle me, Plymouth were quite a nice club before this stupid made-up rivalry.

This is not a derby, never in a million years. We have our own proper rivals, they have their own rivals, the national media have blown it out of all proportion.

I remember when we went there for a League Cup game in August 2012 with our kids playing because the club was in so much financial trouble.

Before kick-off, Plymouth had a band playing in a tent outside the ground with fans mixing, there were no problems. I have photos and everything.

Then, during the match, they helped us pass a banner around, which was really good of them.

So I find it bizarre that this is now considered a rivalry with this hyped-up edge on a game.

It does annoy me a bit, it’s so unnecessary. The mind boggles why it is now considered that way.

Still, it has been a bit of an up and down season for Pompey and it’s great that Kenny Jackett has now given the fans what they’ve wanted for a long time.

Finally we have an extra person up front in support of John Marquis – and it's a really good combination between him and Marcus Harness.

When we signed Marquis from Doncaster, I remember watching a compilation of his goals. Later it was clear we were not playing to his strengths.

I follow a Donny fan on Twitter and he’s laughing every week about us ruining him. Marquis is not a target man, he needs help.

I was actually surprised when Marquis came back to Pompey. He would take so much stick every time we played against him as he always scored and his first Fratton Park spell didn’t end too well.

Now a small tweak and he’s back to his normal self. The change of system also helps Andy Cannon, which is suddenly less defensive.

Cannon needs a few more goals to his game, but Ben Thompson was never a great scorer either. However, both have that energy to push us forward from midfield.

Picking a team is hard because Pompey have so many injuries and we don’t know who has trained since Friday.

If fit, though, I would select Jack Whatmough alongside Rasmus Nicolaisen in the centre of defence, replacing Sean Raggett.

With Ronan Curtis away on international duty and Michael Jacobs injured, we’re struggling for someone on the left-hand side of midfield.

I would play Jordy Hiwula there. He hasn’t played a league game for almost a year, but it’s a case of needs must.

Pompey (4-4-1-1): MacGillivray, Johnson, Nicolaisen, Whatmough, Pring, Williams, Naylor, Close, Hiwula, Harness, Marquis.

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