Kenny Jackett adamant much-needed Portsmouth win at Burton will breed confidence amid poor League One start

Kenny Jackett believes Pompey’s much-needed win at Burton can give his players the confidence to light the touchpaper to their promotion push.
Pompey celebrate Marcus Harness' second goal at Burton. Picture: Daniel Chesterton/phcimages.comPompey celebrate Marcus Harness' second goal at Burton. Picture: Daniel Chesterton/phcimages.com
Pompey celebrate Marcus Harness' second goal at Burton. Picture: Daniel Chesterton/phcimages.com

The Blues delivered a maiden League One victory of the season with a 4-2 success at the Pirelli Stadium.

Marcus Harness was the hat-trick hero against his former side, while Jack Whatmough also bagged.

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It was a thoroughly-deserved three points for Pompey, even after throwing away an early lead to go 2-1 behind in the first half.

But the Blues stuck to their gameplan and got their rewards to move up to 11th in the table.

After dropping points against Shrewsbury, Rochdale and Wigan, Jackett felt his side looked far more convincing against Burton.

Now he feels Pompey can build on the win with seven more games to come this month.

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The boss said: ‘I felt that we showed a lot of commitment today, a good attitude about us. We lost our way against Wigan last week, which I was disappointed with after a bright start.

‘Today, we wanted to put it right in terms of our approach and our tempo – that was the case.

‘In the first half, we did play pretty well and were on top but gave two poor goals away.

‘In the second half, we did nail it at the back a bit better, picked up their runners, made sure we got tight to the wide men then continued to get forward and create chances.

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‘It was great to score four goals as it helps to give everyone confidence going forward, after only scoring once previously.

‘To come away from home and get some goals is good. Most importantly, we want to give our players some confidence now as we head into a very busy October and will look to build some momentum.

‘We haven't really got the combinations right this season, Wigan last week probably the worst one after a good start.

'Today, from start to finish, we showed a bit more resolution, stuck to the plan, encouraged each other and created a lot of chances.

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‘Pleasingly, we did score four and it’ll give us confidence going forward.’

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