The serious questions Portsmouth today face for first time amid record winless Championship start

But there was no sense of doom and gloom after a showing against Sheffield United which spoke of better days this season in the Championship. In fact, things were so upbeat nobody thought to check the stats.

Such history was at odds with a performance which set an upbeat tone for what lies head, as it marked the close of a start to the season being viewed as possibly the toughest in second-tier history. Four days on, and here we are with the same eight-game threshold applied to a new low when it comes to league fixtures without success.

Yet, in the wake of spineless capitulation in the Potteries it’s not such an ill-fitting reflection of the situation Pompey find themselves in. Not at all.

Because today, for the first time, John Mousinho, his staff and players find themselves facing serious questions of the kind they’ve not remotely had to answer over the past 21 months.

With eyes on a return and performance to give lift-off to the season, a 16-year low was recorded and an evening which now takes its place alongside all the nights of shame in the club’s modern history.

What made it so was the very attributes which have defined the season's start being shamefully missing in action.

The non-negotiables of running hard, organisation and winning, or at least competing for, second balls evaporated against opposition facing serious issues of their own after three league defeats on the bounce.

Stoke set about Mousinho’s insipid side from the outset with a vigour which wasn’t remotely matched.

But if that was bad, it was nothing on the unforgivable handing over of the match to the opposition in three suicidal minutes before the interval.

That was to come across a period of five, yes FIVE goals in a 10-minute spell across the two halves which was as bad as anyone can remember - and likely unprecedented.

Pompey were not obliterated by irresistible football, they were blitzed by a side offering intensity which has been their own hallmark.

That, and an incredible rap sheet of individual errors and preventable goals which require immediate action.

Will Norris' continuing place as first choice is today under the spotlight after a horror night, where he was culpable for goals shipped.

Yet it shouldn’t be the keeper exclusively carrying the can for this debacle.

A cheap free-kick after a foul by Marlon Pack led to Norris being beaten too easily for the opener, but that was followed by rampant Tom Cannon running behind Tom McIntyre after possession was gifted from Pompey’s own throw.

It got worse from a terrible Norris distribution gaffe for the third, though he should be spared criticism for the perplexing penalty decision by referee Tom Nield when it appeared he was the victim of a Cannon foul.

That was an island of injustice in a sea of incompetence, however, as Stoke destroyed Pompey’s right flank en-route to the final goals with the heart of Mousinho’s side inexcusably missing.

It all means eyes will now be cast across this group and questions asked of their Championship credentials, after 15 players arrived this summer and 17 departed.

Their lack of experience at the level is now firmly under the spotlight, in the wake of a performance of such naivety. Answers are required.

Mousinho deserves praise for somehow maintaining an equilibrium in the kind of aftermath which has left pasty predecessors with glazed eyes, when placed in the eye of the storm. The kind we all know can so quickly rage at this football club.

Others understandably looked shell-shocked, as players and a young football operation tried to make sense of what had just unfolded on the bleakest of autumn Staffordshire evenings.

They have a lot of credit in the bank after their glorious achievements of the past year, but now have to find answers to ensure a cold Wednesday night at Stoke doesn’t leave permanent scars.