‘Right in it’: Portsmouth boss pinpoints teams left standing in promotion race with Peterborough United, Bolton Wanderers, Derby County and Barnsley still to face

John Mousinho believes the top five are still all vying for automatic promotion in League One.

And the Blues boss is adamant Peterborough remain contenders to finish in the top two, as the campaign enters the home straight.

But Mousinho is refusing to get dragged into the debate over the points target required to reach the Championship.

Pompey are six points clear of their rivals with 10 games to go, ahead of the trip to Blackpool this weekend.

Peterborough are 11 points off Mousinho’s men with a game in hand, following their 5-1 win over Northampton on Tuesday night.

The head coach watched Darren Ferguson’s men flex their muscle ahead of the trip to London Road next weekend, and feels they are a formidable foe who can still reach the top two.

Mousinho said: ‘Certainly a side like Peterborough, who went through a difficult patch in January, are right in it still.

‘They are definitely in with a shout, considering how well they’re playing at the moment.

‘When it comes to points, the the reason we don’t place a huge amount of stock in it is the history of the seasons.

‘Again it’s nothing we have to worry too much about. We just have to focus on ourselves.

‘Last season is a good indicator because you had a side finish on 96 points and end up third, then nearly losing in the play-off semi-finals.

‘We don’t want to get to a certain points total and think we’ve cracked it. Vice-versa we don’t want to think we’ve fallen short and it’s the end of the world.

‘We just need to keep getting as many wins as we can and then the rest will take care of itself.’

Pompey still have the rest of the top five to face over their run-in, as they look to continue a campaign of decent results against their main rivals.

Mousinho pointed out there’s depth in the division, however, with any side capable of turning over another on their day.

He added: ‘We went 3-0 up at Barnsley, though had a tough game in the second half. Then we’ve played bottom-four sides and come away thinking “that was a tough game”.

‘They are all tough sides to play against. I haven’t come away from a game this season thinking “that was an easy fixture”.

‘Some of the scorelines have been a bit more comfortable but we haven’t come away from a game thinking it was an easy day at the office. Up and down the league you know you’re going to get a decent test.’