What Portsmouth can learn from play-off defeat to Sunderland if season is curtailed and they face Oxford

The League One season is facing the serious prospect of being curtailed when clubs vote on their preference next week.

While the EFL wants remaining fixtures to be completed, the 2019-20 campaign will be brought to a premature end if 51 per cent choose to do so.

Promotion and relegation would still apply, with a traditional four-team play-off subsequently taking place.

The Blues would finish fifth and therefore face Oxford in one semi-final and meet either Wycombe or Fleetwood in the final at a neutral venue for a place in the Championship.

Pompey suffered play-off heartbreak last season when they were defeated 1-0 by Sunderland over two legs.

Jackett pinpointed both clashes were tight, with Black Cats forward Chris Maguire's finish at the Stadium of Light proving the difference.

The Blues did have opportunities in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park, but Gareth Evans and James Vaughan were both thwarted by visiting keeper Jon McLaughlin.

If Pompey are to enjoy a return to the second tier, Jackett feels they’ll need more cutting edge in those circumstances.

The boss said: ‘They were tight games, weren't they. The one at Fratton Park was particularly frustrating.

‘We had a couple of big chances – Gareth Evans’ header early on when McLaughlin made a good save, then James Vaughan had a great chance which McLaughlin saved with his legs.

‘They were the two big chances but there weren't many chances in those games at all. What you do learn is when you get the chances, you have to take them.

‘Like a lot of those games, there aren’t many chances created. They are tight games and you have to have your focus all of the time and make sure when you do get those chances then you're clinical enough to take them.

'There’s the factor of it being behind closed doors, as well as the amount of time everyone has had off, which will be interesting.

‘You just have to adapt and make sure you're ready.’