Sheffield United boss sends simple but encouraging message to Portsmouth after Fratton Park stalemate

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has no concerns over Portsmouth’s ability to survive in the Championship based on their performance in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Fratton Park.

Pompey remain winless from their opening seven games but carved out another hard-fought point on the south coast against an unbeaten Blades outfit, despite the early afternoon blow of Conor Shaughnessy pulling up injured during the warm-up. The visitors were on top for large portions of the game but John Mousinho’s side had their moments, not least via Jacob Farrell in the dying minutes.

Marlon Pack also forced Blades goalkeeper Michael Cooper into an outstanding save from a free-kick and Pompey very much gave as good as they got against a team who were two divisions above them in May. And that extended beyond the final whistle, with a large scuffle breaking out between both sides.

A seven-game winless run would dishearten most but the difficulty of opponent - all being genuine promotion contenders - provides a genuine caveat. And Wilder expects those victories to come once the fixtures turn in Pompey’s favour.

“If they keep playing like they’ve just played against us they will get results,” Wilder said of Portsmouth. “Credit to their attitude.”

Pompey have now ridden the wave of their incredibly difficult opening fixture run, having played five of the current top six plus play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough and Luton Town. They are in the bottom three as things stand but can take encouragement from a string of fine performances before a preferable run of games.

Mousinho’s men go to Stoke City on Wednesday before hosting fellow Championship new-boys Oxford United at Fratton Park in a week’s time. Pompey then have the international break to gather themselves before returning for a decent run in which they will need to start picking up some wins.