Portsmouth heading for more promotion heartache and another season in League One - according to our reader poll

Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Blackpool saw the Blues lose further ground in the race for a top-two finish.

Kenny Jackett’s side could have found themselves in the automatic promotion places last Tuesday night had results gone their way.

However, defeat to Bristol Rovers, followed by that humbling at the hands of the Seasiders, now sees seven points separate Pompey and second-placed Peterborough.

The Blues have since dropped to fifth in the table, too, allowing Doncaster Rovers to leapfrog them.

And to make matters worse, teams like Sunderland, Accrington and Oxford are now looking to capitalise on any further slip ups.

Sitting top of the pile after victory over Hull back on December 18 certainly seems a distant memory now.

It’s been a start to the new year which we were all desperate to avoid – and there’s no denying it’s dampened the mood around PO4.

So much so that few believe Pompey will achieve their primary objective this season – promotion back to the Championship.

That’s according to a News Twitter poll that was set up in the wake of the Blackpool defeat.

Two simple questions were asked: 1. Where will Pompey finish the season? and 2. Will they achieve promotion?

And the results were pretty damning, with 91.1 per cent of those taking part in the second question, in particular, believing a fifth season in the third tier beckons for the Blues.

That left only 8.9 per cent of the 598 votes cast for that specific topic believing promotion would be secured.

In fairness, such a response was expected given the result of question one.

Four options were available to the probe into fans’ thoughts on where Pompey will finish: 1. Champions; 2. top two; 3. play-offs; 4. outside the play-offs.

58.8 per cent of the 787 votes lodged believed a play-off place was the best they could expect from their side this season.

But with Pompey’s recent record in the end-of-season match-ups under Jackett resulting in no wins to date, few believe another historic Wembley occasion is in the offing.

Worryingly, the next favoured option was Pompey missing out on the play-offs altogether, with 37..6 per cent accepting that will be the Blues’ fate.

Only 2.5 per cent believed a top-finish was achievable this term, with a mere one per cent holding firm that the title was heading to Fratton Park.

It’s fair to say such results don’t make for pleasant reading.

But no doubt the mood would change if Pompey responded to the Pools loss with victory at Oxford tonight.