'No place to go under' - captain's warning to Pompey team-mates ahead of latest match-up with leaders Sunderland

And the current captain has demanded the Blues put their timid showing at Burton Albion right, as they welcome the new leaders to PO4 on Saturday.

Brown has called on Danny Cowley’s men to show character to put their recent travails and seven-game run without victory in the league right.

Defensive mistakes and lack of attacking threat are seriously damaging Pompey’s hopes of having an impact in League One this season.

Now Pompey have to arrest their slide against opposition who moved to the League One summit after putting five goals past Cheltenham on Tuesday night.

That continued an unbeaten run of eight games, with seven wins coming in that time for Lee Johnson’s men.

The Blues, of course, know all about their rivals from the north east after facing off in an EFL Trophy final, play-offs battles and six League One match-ups in three seasons.

Brown knows Fratton Park will be know place to go missing again this weekend, with it time for Cowley’s men to show some mettle.

He said: ‘We really need to find some solutions quickly otherwise all of our heads are going to be on the chopping block, and trust me, they will be.

‘We need to show a lot more than what we did at Burton, that’s for sure.

‘Some people may not realise it yet but we need to come out fighting because it’s going to be a tough game against Sunderland.

‘We need to show some character and some backbone because, let me tell you, it’s not a place to go under.

‘You can always have one eye on the league table to be honest with you. If you were top of the league, you’d be looking at it definitely.

‘We just need to pick up some points. We seriously need to get more points on the board.’