‘I’m a Portsmouth fan, I know the expectation’: Marlon Pack on facing boos and Ipswich Town approach which irked some of Fratton faithful

But the Blues midfielder feels the tense home environment is hindering the younger members of Danny Cowley’s side.

Pack stressed, however, the onus is firmly on Cowley squad to invigorate the belief of the Pompey faithful after the 2-2 draw with high-flying Ipswich.

After the desperate defeat to MK Dons last time out at PO4 there was much more to take from the display, as Pompey twice led before being pegged back by Kieran McKenna’s side.

The draw, however, means it’s still eight league games without a win and a single League One success from the past 13 fixtures.

That run means the starting point for a lot of fans is frustration not being far from the surface - an issue Pack acknowledges the players have to put right.

He said: ‘We have a job as players to get fans off their seats.

‘Sometimes at Fratton Park you need to set the tempo with the first tackle or forward run.

‘I’m a Portsmouth fan, I know the expectation.

‘I know that from being among the Portsmouth fan base.

‘At times it can be tough, and we’ve had a lot of stick the last few games.

‘I’ve played a lot of games and I know how to take it.

‘We have a lot of young lads, though, and it can be tough for them.

‘I appreciate the fans pay their hard-earned money and there’s nearly 19,000 here.

‘They will be huge for us this season, no doubt about it, and maybe it’s up to us to get them onside and help them bring that noise more than what we have done lately.’

Pompey opted to play with an approach which conceded possession and territory to Ipswich for much of the night at Fratton Park.

That was something which not all fans appreciated, though, Pack felt it was necessary against powerful opposition.

Pack added: ‘They are a side who are doing really well in the division.

‘You have to be a bit careful about how it sounds, but they probably have double what our budget is.

‘But we’re Portsmouth Football Club, so there’s an expectation there.

‘You have to respect the quality they have, though.

‘If you go toe to toe with them for 90 minutes, which we did at times, we’d be playing Ipswich at their own game.

‘You have to try to disrupt them, and I felt we did that brilliantly at times.

‘Unfortunately this is where we’re at right now.

‘It was a better performance here than it was when we had our first defeat at their place.

‘That was a bit of an abject performance, this was miles better.

‘They are a really good side, they look a Championship side already.

‘Talk is cheap, I know, but there’s a lot there in that performance which can galvanise us.

‘We’re still in a decent position, there’s still loads of games to play and we have games in hand.

‘We have a lot of games coming up and things can change in this league quickly.

‘Once we get over the sting of the equaliser I think there are things we can take forward.’