Portsmouth told to forget about FA Cup ahead of Ipswich trip and concentrate on promotion to Championship

That’s the verdict of Blues reporter Will Rooney, who believes the club’s sole focus this term must be on winning promotion to the Championship.

Kenny Jackett’s side travel to League One rivals Ipswich today (3pm) looking to progress to the second round of the competition.

The past two seasons have seen Pompey reach the fourth and fifth rounds respectively, while at the same time maintaining an interest in the battle to go up.

On both occasions, however, the Blues’ hopes fell short at the play-off stages – ensuring they remain in the third tier.

At present, Pompey, who lasted lifted the FA Cup in 2008, sit seventh in the table – one point adrift of a top-six place and five behind leaders Peterborough.

But if they are to get themselves right in the automatic promotion mix, Rooney believes a Cup run needs to be sacrificed.

Speaking in the latest edition of Pompey Talk, the Pompey reporter said it’s a must for Jackett, especially with the manager coming to the end of his current Fratton Park deal.

Rooney said: ‘With the Cup, we know what Kenny Jackett’s stance is, it doesn’t change, he thinks winning breeds confidence, winning breeds wins, but for me you've had your fun in the FA Cup now.

‘Pompey got to the fifth round last season, they’ve had fun in the cup competitions, you’re in your fourth year in League One and Jackett is in the last year of his contract.

‘He needs to go up to probably earn a new deal, let’s face it.

‘If it was me, I'd be going to Ipswich to give a good account of ourselves, make changes and go out with a bit of pride.

‘I think if Pompey weren’t playing West Ham next week (in the EFL Trophy), maybe Jackett would have made changes.

‘But because they've got a free week, although hypothetically they'll have nine days between Ipswich and Plymouth, he might think that's ample time for players to recover, so he might go out there and say "let's go win the tie”.

‘But, as I said, Pompey have had their fun in the cups now - concentrate on the league, let's get it out of the way.

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‘If you want that carrot of a big Premier League game away from home, well, you're not even going to get gate revenue this season.

‘You get the prize money from the first two rounds and it's a boost to the coffers in financially difficult times, but is it going to make a huge difference at this stage of the season? Probably not.

‘So get out of the cup - that's what I'd like to see.

‘Get out, put in a decent performance, make sure you don't get tonked and morale is sapped and concentrate on Plymouth.’

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