‘Struggle to see’: EFL podcaster delivers Portsmouth relegation call as battle continues with Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City

That’s the verdict of Ryan Dilks from the Second Tier Podcast, who is adamant he doesn’t see the relegation picture changing in the final four games of the campaign.

The Blues picked up a vital last-gasp point against rivals Derby County on Saturday, with Rob Atkinson heading home a late header in stoppage time.

After Cardiff’s defeat to Stoke, John Mousinho’s men now sit four points clear of the bottom three, while the Rams are just a point above the drop in 21st.

Pompey make the trip to Norwich on Good Friday before contests against Watford and Sheffield Wednesday follow. Hull travel down to Fratton Park on the final day in what could still be a pivotal contest in the fight for survival after their point against Coventry on Monday.

However, podcaster Dilks strongly believes the bottom three won’t change between now and the close of the season, and is adamant the sides above - including the Blues - are too strong for the drop.

Speaking on the latest episode, he said: ‘I’m a lot more positive over Derby and therefore I struggle to see anyone but this current bottom three. I think it might be starting to shape up to be just that.

‘It’s getting to a stage that we head into the final day of the season and relegation’s actually sewn up. I think a big part of that is how poor the goal difference is for the three teams down there, which is a massive disadvantage for all three of them.

‘But the other thing is the teams who I was looking at outside of the bottom three to potentially replace any of those sides were Oxford United and Stoke, who are now looking all but safe.

‘So I just struggle to see who else outside the bottom three is looking to displace any of those sides because I just think they are better than the three teams down there if we’re putting it simply as that. I think it may end up being those three.

‘That Derby-Luton game on Good Friday is absolutely massive because if Derby wins then it’s looking very difficult for anyone else to be getting dragged into it.’

Pompey v Derby looked like a ‘Sunday league game’

It was a feisty contest on the pitch, with referee Ruebyn Ricardo dishing out nine yellow cards - five for Pompey and four Derby respectively.

And there were a number of key chances in the first half missed by both sides too, with Colby Bishop having a penalty saved, while Christian Saydee was also denied from close range. Meanwhile, Marcus Harness hit the crossbar from distance on his second return to Fratton Park

And Dilks’ co-host Justin Peach believed the contest optimised that of Sunday league game with a result vital for both clubs in the relegation battle.

He said: ‘That personified the game. It felt like a Sunday league game, with the greatest respect to these two teams. It was wild.

‘There were so many fouls, so many loose tackles, there was some good football and some not so good on display. The goals that were scored were also very Sunday league.

‘Rob Atkinson’s second goal is a lump into the box. Defenders don’t move quick in the box, they’ve got to run onto the ball to generate the momentum to get the ball into the goal. The fact he’s come from the other end unmarked is criminal from a Derby perspective.

‘John Eustace was quite pleased with the performance but I came away from it thinking Derby were relatively poor and I thought Pompey pressed them a lot more than Derby did.’

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