Pompey Q&A: Jordan Cross gives his verdict on play-off hopes, contract talks, Sean Raggett and Michael Jacobs' futures, and the pressure on Danny Cowley to get this summer's transfer window right

Here’s what he had to say about the play-offs, the current contract situation, Michael Jacobs’ future and the growing expectations on Danny Cowley in the summer transfer window.

Q We need to remain positive while it's still mathematically possible to reach the play-offs, but, realistically, are we just delaying the inevitable?

Yeah, we have to remain positive but I think you have to be realistic as well.

There was some optimism off the back of that recent run of wins, but we knew the calibre of the opposition in that run was probably nice for Pompey

I've gone away since then, missed a couple of games, but where do things stand now?

Well, it's not dead, but I would say hopes are fading quickly in terms of reaching the top six.

If you look at the table with eight games to go, Pompey are on 59 points.

You want to get two points a game, which is promotion form, and that would take them to about 75 points.

That would be some going, but I don't think the evidence is there to suggest they’re remotely likely to produce that form.

The points total associated with the play-offs averages about 74 over the past 10-20 years.

But I think the total this year, looking at the table, is going to be higher.

Sunderland are on 67 already and they're in sixth, so it's going to be higher.

A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be a hard-luck story for Pompey - they'd get above 74 but it wouldn’t be enough for them.

Now I'm dubious whether they'd even get to that because I don’t think they can go along at two points per game.

They've got a reasonable run-in, a mixed bag, some good, some easy, but I think they're probably going to get around 72 or 73 points which won't be enough this season.

Q Pompey have 12 senior players out of contract at the end of the season - eight of whom started against Wycombe last time out. Is that a healthy position to be in seeing as Cowley doesn't want another massive overhaul this summer?

It (last summer) was a seismic overhaul, probably of the size we've rarely seen since around the 2012-13 season, that kind of period.

Danny Cowley is confident he's in a better position this year but there's still a lot of work to be done this summer with the out of contract players.

What will make it easier for Danny is the options.

There's an element of control with virtually all the players, with the exception of Sean Raggett, where the option is related to promotion, I believe.

So that puts that one in a grey area.

I'm not sure where Pompey stand with Sean Raggett, which will raise an eyebrow or two, given that he'd probably get my vote for player of the season at the moment,There is that element of control, there is probably more work to be done, though, than Danny Cowley would either like or probably publicly suggest.

There's going to be another big overhaul this summer, no doubt.

Q We know the likes of Michael Jacobs, Sean Raggett, Louis Thompson and Marcus Harness have clauses in their deals - but why have the Blues not been activating them, especially when Cowley believes his squad is much better placed than what he inherited?

Danny has gone for quality over quantity and I think he has control over the players he wants around.

I wouldn't be too concerned about activating clauses, though.

There'll be talks going on probably to the summer, with Pompey having the ability to do that.

They'll be playing their hand as well as they can and they're not going to activate a clause now on a player who could then get injured in the remaining games of the season.

That would be sensible and it probably happens every where, with those clauses activated at a later date.

Q Jacobs is a player the Fratton faithful would love to stay - but do you see Cowley offering him a deal? If he didn't it wouldn't prove popular.

I got myself into a battle on Twitter over this recently.

I was at pains to point out that while Michael Jacobs is perhaps my favourite player in this current group, I just don't believe Danny Cowley will look to keep him.

He's a big earner, he has his injury issues, and I think there's a concern that he can't quite stay fit for a decent extended period.

I also identified that I don't think he quite fits into Danny Cowley's style of play.

Some people replied to that one by saying, 'hold on, that's been disproved'.

I don't think it has been - Michael Jacobs is playing that well that I think Danny Cowley is having to accommodate him and that there's been such a groundswell that he can't ignore it.

That doesn't make him an immediate, natural fit, he's going to be doing the hard pressing, hard-running mileage that Danny puts value on.

That said, and I've said this so many times, it's criminal how little he has been used, and I stand by that.

I think his creativity is outstanding amongst this group and indeed at this level.

And in terms of his earnings, Danny Cowley would rather opt to put that money somewhere else come this summer.

Q We're told that three transfer windows are needed for any manager to really stamp his authority on a team. Do you envy Danny Cowley this summer?

It's a fair assessment. Three transfer windows is the common timeframe within the game.

Danny Cowley's had this season, he's been given a bit of a free hit to an extent, which I'm not totally in agreement with.

But then I can see there's a lot of work to be done and an overhaul and the words ‘season of transition’ have been used a lot.

But that now goes out the window and when it does pan out that Pompey don't make the play-offs and have the overhaul. Danny Cowley's got to be judged a lot more keenly moving forward, I believe.

I don't think there will be as much leeway for Danny from the supporters.

He's got good popularity in terms of the way he conducts himself, the way he speaks.

He gets Pompey - we hear that a lot - he gets the passion of the club and the supporters, and the whole ethos of the club.

But Danny knows the rules of the game.

You can debate the budget and where it stands in the hierarchy of League One but the rules of the game are Pompey should be pushing for promotion from this division and that will be the demand next season.

If Pompey are falling short of that or looking like they're not in contention for at least the play-offs again, I think it would be understandable for the pressure to then be on Danny.

He knows that as much as anyone.

He knows what the demands are and I think he’s got a confidence in his own work ethic, because he does work hard and virtually harder than any other manager I've seen.

He's in early, he's out late - I don’t think he's had a day off in the last year - and that's not an exaggeration - and he's got a hard-working team behind him.

I think they think if they work hard, they remove a lot of the doubts.

Fingers cross, but I think next season will be the time to really judge Danny more keenly.