Portsmouth boss’ response over players who failed to deliver in draw at struggling Morecambe

And the Pompey boss spoke of his frustration at his side failing to reach the levels required to deliver victory for supporters on their longest trip of the season.

A disjointed display saw the Blues sent reeling from a position of control after falling behind in the 36th minute, and the damage could easily have been worse before the break in the 1-1 draw.

Cowley’s men improved after the restart, but again lost their way with the strugglers having clear chances to settle the game.

The result means it’s now just one win in eight in the league for Pompey, with five draws arriving in that period.

It was clear experienced players in Cowley’s ranks came up short at the Mazuma Stadium, with others looking short on confidence.

The Pompey boss was not prepared to cite certain members of his squad for not performing, however, insisting the group has to shoulder responsibility for the shortcomings.

Cowley said: ‘For us, it’s always a collective effort.

‘We know that these games are often forgotten quite quickly, but they ultimately define us - individually and collectively.

‘We know these places are hard to come, though.

‘We haven’t got the players at the moment, too.

‘We’re having to play people out of position.

‘We ended up playing three right-backs throughout the game. It’s just where it is.

‘With the amount of injuries we’ve got at the minute it’s difficult to manage.’

Pompey were backed by 1,057 fans for the longest trip of the season, with many making a 600-mile round trip to watch their team in action.

They incessantly backed their side in the second half as they attempted to drive them on against Derek Adams’ men.

The Blues couldn’t turn the deficit around, however, and that was a source of consternation for Cowley who acknowledged the players didn’t hit the levels required to pick up three points.

He said: ‘We’ve travelled 600 miles yesterday and today and our supporters do exactly the game

‘I thought they were incredible.

‘They’ve worked all week and got up in the middle of the night to make their to Morecambe.

‘I think second half they could sense the team were playing well.

‘They stayed with us and really drove the team and our intensity.

‘But we weren’t able to find the level of performance which would’ve enabled us to win.’