We cannot allow another play-off hangover at Portsmouth - Mark Catlin

Now Mark Catlin has urged the Blues to swiftly dust themselves down to avoid a repeat in the aftermath of their latest semi-final heartbreak.

Kenny Jackett’s side were last year knocked out of the play-offs by Sunderland in a 1-0 aggregate defeat.

They subsequently started the present campaign slowly, with one win in their opening seven League One fixtures, leaving them 20th by mid-September.

Ultimately, that wretched start was crucial in finishing outside the top-two positions when the season was curtailed.

The Blues remain in League One following Monday night’s elimination at Oxford United.

But Catlin has learnt the importance of quickly bouncing back.

He told The News: ‘You have to dust yourself down quickly in any business, especially football.

‘Already my first job yesterday morning was to write an email to staff to express how I felt.

‘It feels like it has been a very, very tough season, but we reached the third round of the EFL Cup, the fifth round of the FA Cup, the final of the Leasing.com Trophy and were unbeaten at home in the league.

‘However, I would swap it all just to have a chance in the final now, let alone the couple of points which would have got us promoted automatically,

‘Events this year were, to a degree, superseded by Covid-19, but there are no excuses for us. We had a crack at it and, by virtue of missing a penalty, fell short.

‘You have to dust yourself down quickly and not have a hangover going into next season.

‘That happened to us this year, to a degree. We were very slow in getting started and undoubtedly lost our chance of automatic promotion during that first 10-15 game period when just above the relegation slots.’

Earlier in 2020, Pompey claimed a club record nine successive league victories.

It was a surge which took them into fourth place and challenging for the automatic spots – then came the coronavirus crisis.

Catlin added: ‘The sad thing for us was, for a period of time, we were on a great run and I felt confident we’d have carried that on and got to where we wanted.

‘But there is no point in dwelling on ifs, buts and maybes,. We are where we are.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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