Richardson: Pompey attacking threat to die for

That is the view of assistant boss Leam Richardson after the in-form Blues put four past Wycombe on Saturday to move up to second spot in League Two.

A fourth straight league victory saw the Fratton faithful treated to seven goals in as many days as Pompey followed up last weekend’s impressive 3-0 home win over Crawley with a similarly entertaining 4-2 success over the Chairboys.

And with four different scorers on the mark in the Wycombe win, – Christian Burgess, Gary Roberts, Conor Chaplin and Carl Baker – Richardson is delighted to see goals arriving from all areas of the field.

He said: ‘We have attacking options to die for at the minute, which is excellent.

‘We have goals in us from all over the pitch and throughout the squad.

‘And with how we play and the belief the manager puts into the players, you will see the goals spread out quite a lot.

‘That’s down to the positions we put the lads in and, hopefully, this season it won’t be any different.’

For Richardson, a fourth straight league triumph means the Blues’ much-discussed slow start to the campaign – which saw them winless from their opening three outings – is now a thing of the past.

Indeed, the biggest headache Pompey’s management staff now face is which of their attacking options to name in the starting XI.

Richardson said: ‘The start of the season was a little bit new, with relationships and partnerships forming.

‘But it’s important to get and up and running as quickly as we can and, thankfully, we have had a good start now. We are scoring goals and it (deciding who to start) is a great headache for the manager to have at the moment.

‘There are talented players not even getting on the bench because there is competition for places all around our squad.

‘And the longer we keep everybody on the same page and momentum flowing, the better for us.’

The idea that Pompey can win games in this division on attacking potency alone, though, has been emphatically dismissed by the Blues’ second in command.

Richardson added: ‘It is disrespectful to other teams to think we can just put them to the sword.

‘There are very good teams in this league with very good players and we are just part of that.

‘But what we want to do is get our heads down and work as hard as we possibly can to earn that little bit of luck to win games like Saturday.’

While luck will no doubt have its part to play in the remainder of the campaign, it was a moment of skill that Saturday’s success will be long remembered for.

That arrived in the shape of Chaplin’s first goal of the season, a wonderful solo effort, as he continues to press for a first start of the campaign.

‘It is a great goal – a cheeky poacher’s finish,’ said Richardson.

‘He never gives it up.

He smells blood, hangs on the last breath and looks for mistakes.

‘The centre-half made one and the goalkeeper was then out of position and he punished both of them.

‘He is a ruthless kid in front of goal and that is why he is playing for a big club like ours.’