Portsmouth 0 Leyton Orient 3 - Neil Allen's verdict: Where on earth do Blues go from here after latest promotion implosion

The absence of a sponsors' man of the match announcement had a logical explanation - they refused to nominate one.

The table of 10 representing match sponsors Bordon-based business Silent Air & Sea reached unanimous agreement that nobody was deserving of the accolade against Leyton Orient.

Instead, they informed host Alan Knight that the Fratton faithful or a Leyton Orient player was their preference. Neither selection was rubber stamped by the club.

Just 35 days after conquering second-placed Bolton to soar even further ahead at the top of League One, Pompey are being booed off at the final whistle after another disappointing display, while Blues-supporting sponsors are effectively declining the paid-for opportunity to meet their man-of-the-match afterwards.

How quickly it has unravelled for a team which had previously dominated the division for five months, losing just once in league action.

Since Kusini Yengi beat up Ricardo Santos in front of the Sky TV cameras, John Mousinho's men have won two of their eight matches in all competitions, while taking eights points from a possible 21.

There was a good second half at Shrewsbury, a solid victory over Stevenage, a steady showing at Bristol Rovers with last-gasp heartbreak at the end of it. And that's about it to admire.

Alarmingly, Pompey are unrecognisable from the team which, at one stage during the Fleetwood match, were nine points clear at the top of the table.

Granted, injuries have played their part and Yengi is seconded to the Asian Cup, yet players' form has dipped significantly. Suddenly a substitutes' bench rightly lauded now looks weak.

Marlon Pack and Joe Morrell are keeping their heads above water, as is Joe Rafferty to an extent, yet the form of the other former Blues invincibles has noticeably dipped. In some cases shockingly.

The pivotal problem for Mousinho is his squad's startling drop off has occurred at precisely the same time - in the month since that magnificent Bolton triumph.

Strengthening the playing staff in the January transfer window was always going to be crucial, even had they maintained sparkling progress. Now a mini mid-season rebuild is essential to reverse the rapidly escalating damage.

Attacking roles, in particular, require urgent addressing. Colby Bishop, who missed a penalty in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Leyton Orient, is badly out of form, Christian Saydee has his strengths but there's no impact in the opposition penalty area, while Yengi could still be away until next month.

Alex Robertson has returned to Manchester City, surprise hit Abu Kamara is naturally a little erratic considering his age and inexperience, Anthony Scully is still feeling his way back from knee surgery, while there is an over-reliance on Paddy Lane.

As for Gavin Whyte, the marquee signing from the Championship has managed one goal in 25 appearances and overall struggled to impress, despite many opportunities. He wasn't even called upon from the bench against Orient.

Finally, Josh Martin, whose stay has been extended until the season's end, has now played five matches in the last 10-and-a-half months, understandably hampering his potential effectiveness.

Against Orient, it was clear there was no coming back at half-time. Not purely through a 3-0 deficit either - a bench short of fitness, form and reliability was never going to perform a remarkable rescue act.

Pompey had started the match well enough, offering a good tempo and absolutely on the front foot. Then, Shaqai Forde broke the deadlock on 30 minutes and the hosts imploded.

Jordan Brown registered five minutes later from a corner which ricocheted off his behind and into the net, while, on the stroke of half-time, Dan Agyei registered with a near-post header.

Coupled with Bishop's weak spot kick in the 40th minute when 2-0 down, it represented an awful half for the Blues against a side placed 12th in the league.

Mousinho introduced Terry Devlin and Tom Lowery at the interval and switched to a back three, yet Pompey remained lacklustre, albeit now lacking any sort of control of the game in their desperation.

Sadly, the Fratton faithful are battle-hardened to post-Christmas implosions from promising promotion positions, yet surely this capitulation is currently the most shocking of them all.

It is, of course, redeemable, the Blues remain a point clear in League One, and will most likely qualify for the play-offs regardless. Yet that is nowhere near good enough, nor any reason to be satisfied.

They require fresh blood to reinvigorate a wilting side, experienced first-team ready performers without injury backgrounds. There's no time to bring players up to speed or allow learning on the job with 19 games remaining.

This transfer window was always going to dictate automatic promotion. Now the Pompey reputations of Tornante, Rich Hughes and Mousinho also hinge on it.