What Danny Cowley has to say about Portsmouth's play-off hopes as flying form continues at Crewe

The Blues made it six wins out of seven with a 3-1 success at Crewe, which saw them within five points of the play-off places.

It’s flying form which has lifted the spirits of fans after their side’s struggles at the start of the year.

And Cowley believes the challenge for his men is to keep that upbeat mood going with 11 games to go.

He said: ‘It’s performance - that’s the p word for us.

‘It’s performance and getting that right. If we do that the results follow.

‘We just want to keep getting better. Let’s keep trying to be better.

‘We’re know we’re up against it, but let’s embrace the challenge.

‘It’s 19 out of 21 points and that’s a really good return for the club.

‘It’s a performance I think feel we can be really proud of and I felt we were ruthless on the counter-attack.

‘People say Stoke isn’t an easy place to go on a Tuesday night, well you want to go to Crewe on such a difficult surface.

‘It’s a game we’ve invested so much in.

‘We’ve been here twice, travelled and had to prepare for it twice.

‘We also knew how much the supporters had invested so we’re pleased they travelled to see us pick up three points.’

Pompey exerted firm control over the game, before they eased off the gas late on with the points in the bag.

That didn’t necessarily go down well with their boss, but Cowley wasn’t going to be too critical on this occasion.

He added: ‘There was a lot to like about the performance up to the first 20 minutes.

‘We got in a 3-0 lead and made subs to protect people.

‘We didn’t want to take George (Hirst) off and the same with Louis (Thompson), who has been excellent.

‘We could have finished the game in a better way if we’re being critical but now isn’t the time for that.

‘We asked the players to play with a humility, drive, togetherness and focus - and we had all those qualities.’