How Portsmouth and Sunderland can benefit from most competitive League One in years against Wigan Athletic, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic

Lee Brown believes Pompey can embrace not being favourites for League One promotion this season.
Lee Brown thinks Pompey can benefit from not being League One title favourites this seasonLee Brown thinks Pompey can benefit from not being League One title favourites this season
Lee Brown thinks Pompey can benefit from not being League One title favourites this season

And the Blues defender has called on his team to develop a backs-to-the-wall mentality to deliver success in the third tier at the fifth time of asking.

For the first time since they arrived in the division in 2017, Pompey find they aren’t among the top contenders to go up with the bookies.

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In four of the past five campaigns they’ve shared that position with Sunderland, with eyes on the players to deliver.

This time around, Danny Cowley’s men were as low as sixth with the oddsmakers to go up before a ball was kicked - behind the Black Cats, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town.

Brown feels that can help take the pressure on his team-mates and help them thrive.

He said: ‘You know what, I sort of like it when your back is against the wall and everything is against you.

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‘When everything is against you, that also can be the time when you show your best.

‘It can definitely work in our favour.

‘The amount people are spending in League One this summer is crazy. It’s crazy money.

‘I didn’t know they did those kind of signing-on fees at this level - I wish I’d known that earlier!

‘There’s always been quite a lot of pressure at Portsmouth, that’s definitely been the case over the past three years.

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‘It’s always been Portsmouth and Sunderland, well this year it’s clear to see how strong the division is - but I think that could actually work in our favour.’

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