Kenny Jackett's impressive Portsmouth stats highlighted as pundit backs him to lead Blues to the Championship

Pompey boss Kenny Jackett has his detractors at Fratton Park.
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But Sky pundit George Elek believes any continued criticism of the Blues manager is harsh, especially when you look at his stats for the current calendar year.

Despite missing out on promotion to the Championship via the play-offs in July and a below-par start to the 2020-21 campaign, Jackett’s league record this year stands up under scrutiny, according to the respected Not The Top 20 podcaster.

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With 51 points accumulated so far in 2020, no other side has fared better.

Pompey’s total number of wins – 15 – sees them ranked second.

Meanwhile, the Blues sit in a similar spot when it comes to goals scored, too – 46.

Six more goals were netted yesterday in the demolition of King’s Lynn, albeit in the FA Cup, to see Jackett & Co progress to the third round.

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Pompey boss Kenny JackettPompey boss Kenny Jackett
Pompey boss Kenny Jackett
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And with the Fratton Park outfit now sitting fifth in the table after an impressive October and November, much of the criticism levelled at the manager has subsided.

Jackett is only ever one defeat away, however, from certain sections of the Fratton faithful questioning his credentials once more.

Yet speaking on Sky Sports’ One To Watch segment, Elek believes if Pompey stay on the course they’re on, they can make it to the Championship at the end of the season.

As a result, he’s sticking to his opinion that Jackett, who is in the final year of his Blues contract, deserves credit rather than criticism.

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Elek told Sky Sports: ‘I’ve had a bit of stick, pointing these (stats) out to Portsmouth fans who don’t like Kenny Jackett because it tells a certain story.

‘And I think you’ve got to be careful when you’re on-lookers from the outside telling fans that their opinions on their manager are incorrect because they watch their side every week.

‘But the fact is, over the last calendar year, they’ve picked up ore points than any other side in the league, they’re picking up points at a rate that if they carry on doing this they will end up where they want to be – which is back in the Championship.

‘You know, he’s overseen two play-off defeats, one of which on penalties against Oxford, in two games when even as an Oxford fan myself, Portsmouth were the stronger side over the two legs, in my opinion, and against Sunderland the year before.

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‘So the fans don’t trust him in a play-off situation, but realistically, it’s a tiny little sample size that.

‘It’s basically the luck of the draw and they’ve been unlucky twice.

‘And they had a very poor start to last season as well which meant they could never really get involved (in the automatic promotion race).

‘If football had’t finished in March, maybe they would have got there.

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‘I think he doesn’t necessarily have the passion and maybe wear his heart on his sleeve as much as Pompey fans would like.

‘But in terms of getting this attacking unit to be pretty cohesive and pretty effective – you look at what Curtis does, you look at what Marquis and Harness do as well.

‘It’s tough. You look at the relationship between the fans and the manager isn’t great.

‘I hope it’s going to end for Kenny Jackett with a promotion but I think some fans’ mind are made up already.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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