'This season is now all about survival'

Time and again last season, we would regularly embarrass ourselves away from home.

What's so bitterly disappointing, is despite how much progress we all thought we were making and how far we felt we'd come, we've been truly annihilated on our travels yet again.

And worryingly, Saturday's defeat by Birmingham saw a return to the style of performance and result that took Pompey close to returning to League One at the first time of asking.

The game itself we started incredibly poorly, the opening half an hour was truly awful. A big penalty save from Joe Bursik meant Pompey were still in it at the break.

John Mousinho's attacking changes had barely made it onto the pitch before the floodgates opened for goals two and three. At which point the game was settled and anything we did north of 60 minutes became futile and immaterial. It could've been five or six.

I wrote previously that recent events meant Pompey were sleepwalking into a bit of trouble and nothing that happened on Saturday changed my stance on that at all. If anything it amplifies the issue.

With over 30 games to go, there's time on our side and a lot can change very quickly. It's clearly becoming apparent, if it wasn't already, that this season will be another where everything is geared towards survival.

Players deployed in their natural positions and a return for some key performers who have long been sidelined will make a difference.

But right now, it's very hard to see where Pompey's next set of three points will come from. One win in nine games is simply unacceptable.