Andrew Moon column: Pompey can turn losses into points by kicking 'nasty habit'

Portsmouth's unbeaten run came to an end when they lost to Wycombe at the weekend

It's been a tough week for Pompey following the defeat to Wycombe last weekend, but BBC Radio Solent Sport's Andrew Moon explains why he thinks there is room for optimism and why it is way too early to hit the panic button.

It's unlikely Danny and Nicky Cowley will turn to panto when their management careers end. You rarely see them out of a tracksuit let alone in costume.

But given the club's current run they'll be relieved it was cheers rather than jeers that greeted their arrival on stage during Cinderella at the King's Theatre in Southsea on Monday.

They weren't dressed up as the "ugly sisters" and seemed less nervous than BBC Radio Solent mid-morning presenter Pat Sissons, who was also appearing! However Pompey could do with a bit of fairy godmother magic on the pitch at the moment.

Privately within the club there is strong belief that they will not just be in the play-off picture but can finish inside the top six at the end of the regular season.

Hopes of automatic promotion were always optimistic, simply given the playing budget at Fratton Park compared to others within League One - a playoff place might be the minimum requirement for supporters but internally it would be viewed as a decent achievement.

The problem is Portsmouth fans feel like they've seen this movie before.

This is the club's sixth successive season in League One and in four of the past five years potentially promising positions have been squandered.

Sometimes it's been dramatic, like Viv Solomon-Otabor's failure to stay onside in the penultimate game of the 2018-19 season.

Other campaigns like 2017-18 and last season have seen hopes of a top-six finish slowly fade away over the winter.

The net result has always been the same though, Pompey stuck in the third tier of English football, below their natural position in the footballing food chain.

'A mental weakness?'

Back in September Portsmouth won 2-0 at Burton Albion to record their sixth successive League One win - only Ipswich's goal difference kept them from top spot.

They had taken 20 points and scored 17 goals in eight matches. In the 10 League One matches since then they've picked up nine points and scored nine goals.

Statistics will only tell you part of the story and, as head coach Danny Cowley has pointed out, that run only contains three defeats and ignores two wins in the EFL Trophy and a couple of FA Cup triumphs.

Had Portsmouth managed to get three points rather than one at home to either Fleetwood or Shrewsbury - which they possibly should have done - things would look a little different.

They've developed a nasty habit of conceding from the opposition's first chance, something that's happened more than half a dozen times this season.

A mental weakness? More likely a statistical quirk that won't continue.

But it's a long time since Pompey have put in a complete performance. Decent in spells here and there but not a 90 minute effort, and there are draws they should have lost as well as ones they should've claimed three points from.

At Wycombe the team were outrun and outfought in the first half and you don't deserve anything from a match when that happens.

Can Pompey turn the tide at Lancashire foes?

Injuries have certainly played a factor. Midfielder Tom Lowery was a major coup when signed in the summer but has managed only 30 minutes since the middle of September.

Danny Cowley has been getting increasingly exasperated with the club's failure to get Lowery back on the field.

Marlon Pack was also a big miss for a month after a brilliant start to the season - playing with your fifth and sixth choice midfielders is far from ideal.

The Eisner family have made it clear they believe in giving their managers time and, unlike other owners, they practise what they preach on that front. Portsmouth have two games in hand on most of League One.

Winning one of them would be enough to climb back into the top six. No sensibly run club would change their manager in that position.

Can they turn it around this weekend?

I was at Accrington for Pompey's first visit there in 2013. After a 2-2 draw - where the home side had grabbed a late equaliser - a club official told me it was frustrating, but that they didn't expect to have to make more than one further visit to "grounds like this".

Since that day the two clubs have won the same number of promotions, one each, and Pompey have been back to the Wham Stadium seven times - but they've won there only once.

You can hear every Pompey match live on BBC Radio Solent with Andy Moon and former Blues striker and manager Guy Whittingham.

• Post-match reaction: Wycombe v Portsmouth: Defender Michael Morrison

• Post-match reaction: Wycombe v Portsmouth: Manager Danny Cowley

• Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner: 'We will run Pompey for years to come'