Pompey suffered a thrashing at the hands of Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Wednesday night.
There was FA Cup and Championship action on Tuesday and Wednesday with Pompey playing a re-arranged match against Blackburn. The score was goalless for an hour, but Makhtar Gueye broke the deadlock, and then further goals from Callum Brittain and Andi Weimann came.
'We had a slightly shaky start, but didn't concede and defended really well a couple of times," said manager John Mousinho to The News in his assessment of the game.
'Then, after 25 minutes, we settled into the game really well. We had a spell of pressure, had a few corners, free-kicks, hit the bar at 0-0 and when we came out in the second half it was more of the same. We actually played a lot better in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
‘I didn’t expect Makhtar Gueye to score from that far outside the back post, so we have to do better there.
‘The second goal is the second goal and the game changes on that, and I think we have to defend better for the third.'
Elsewhere in the division, Cardiff City picked up a point against Watford on Tuesday night, and Plymouth Argyle in Miron Muslic's first game held Oxford United to a draw. The latest set of results saw Pompey drop two places to second from bottom, with their goal difference taking a bit of a battering.
Up next for Pompey is a home match against play-off chasing Middlesbrough. Cardiff face Swansea City in a South Wales Derby on Saturday, whilst Hull City have Millwall, and Plymouth are at home against QPR.
Pompey kick off the latest out of the three teams in and around them in the relegation battle, so they will know the task in hand when they entertain Boro.
Following the defeat in midweek, take a look at the latest bookmakers’ relegation odds and see who have been named as the favourites to go down based on the latest round of results.

21. HULL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Mason Burstow of Hull City looks dejected after missing the fifth penalty in the penalty shoot out during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Hull City and Doncaster Rovers at MKM Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Hull, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Relegation odds: 9/4 (bet365) | Getty Images Photo: George Wood/Getty Images)

22. Portsmouth
Relegation odds: 4/5 (bet365) | Getty Images Photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images


24. Plymouth Argyle
Relegation odds: 1/14 (bet365) | Getty Images Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)