Portsmouth

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth defender Regan Poole has admitted he has had a dip in form for the first time in quite a while in his career.

The 26-year-old spent more than 10 months on the sidelines due to a knee injury before returning to action in September.

"It's been tough for me personally, I've made quite a few mistakes that have led to goals which is not nice," Poole told BBC Radio Solent.

"It's frustrating and plays on my mind, of course, but it's football, it's how you bounce back."

The former Lincoln City centre-back has started 10 consecutive matches for Pompey after his return to full fitness.

"Obviously I came back at Burnley - it was adrenaline mostly and it's been quite frustrating since then," he said. "I wanted to take off where I left off but that hasn't been the case at all.

"It's nice that the gaffer knows what I'm going through, he would have loved to have played me a little bit less and the big thing for me was getting to this international break feeling fit with no niggles."

Image source, BBC Sport

Blackburn welcome Portsmouth to Ewood Park after ending a run of four games without a win by beating Cardiff 3-1 in Wales last time out.

Pompey are three points from safety but won their second game of the season before the international break, a 3-1 success over Preston at Fratton Park.

• Blackburn Rovers are unbeaten across their last five league games against Portsmouth (W4 D1), since a 3-2 loss at Fratton Park in November 2008.

• Portsmouth have lost each of their last three and six of their last seven (W1) away league games against Blackburn Rovers, with this fixture not seeing a draw at Ewood Park since April 2000.

• Blackburn have won both of their Championship games against newly promoted teams this season, having gone nine without a win against promoted teams before this (D2 L7).

• Portsmouth's Colby Bishop has scored six goals in his last eight league appearances, netting in his first ever Championship appearance last time out in the 3-1 win over Preston.

• Blackburn's opening goal at Cardiff last time out was following a sequence of 41 passes before Andreas Weimann scored; only one Championship goal has had more passes in the build-up on record (since 2013-14), a Cesare Casadei goal for Leicester against Rotherham last December (54).

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth striker Colby Bishop's return to Fratton Park was an emotional one after he scored a second half penalty during Saturday's 3-1 victory over Preston North End on his comeback following heart surgery.

On this week's 'Who Needs Mourinho?' podcast, BBC Radio Solent's Andrew Moon talks about the story behind the scenes and how it seemed that "the script was written" for Bishop to bring light to a miserable season.

"It just feels like there's been a massive lack of joy at Fratton Park following Pompey this season, and it wasn't just the fact that Pompey won the game and it wasn't just the fact that they totally deserved to win the game - but it just felt like the perfect ending to have Colby Bishop coming off the bench, no one was expecting him," Moon said.

"It tells you how Pompey fans think that more than one fan has said to me this week that they were worried he was going to miss and Preston were going to go up other the end and score. But look, that's not how fairy tales go.

"It's just so wonderful that he would come on in probably the happiest home game of the season and get that wonderful moment and take the penalty."

As for where the win leaves Portsmouth, Moon feels that it has helped to put the "doom and gloom" feeling among fans behind them.

"Psychologically, being in the relegation zone is bad but when there's a number of teams within three points you just feel like it's striking distance," he added.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said Pompey's 3-1 Championship win over Preston North End was "huge" ahead of the international break.

The victory was just Portsmouth's second in the league since their return to the second tier but moved them off the foot of the table.

"We knew that we needed the result after everything that's happened this season and this week as well," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"It's been really frustrating just to take the one point from those two games [against Hull City and Plymouth Argyle].

"So the result was the most important thing and very close second to that was the performance.

"It's huge in terms of the points we've picked up and just giving everybody a lift."

Mousinho said it had been a week of "head scratching and frustration" before the win at Fratton Park on Saturday.

"A point up at Hull, which we probably take, but we should have won the game," he added. "We certainly should have taken at least a point on Tuesday [at Plymouth].

"And we're sitting there thinking 'how on earth have we put ourselves in this position?' We know why - because we haven't been ruthless and clinical at both ends of the pitch.

"You probably don't want the international break to come now. But we've got a bit of an opportunity to rest some of the boys again. I think that will help us."

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho says his players need to "change their mindset and mentality" when they face fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night.

Pompey, bottom of the Championship, would go above the Pilgrims with a win but have struggled in their two previous midweek away games, losing 6-1 at Stoke and 2-0 at Cardiff.

"There are plenty of things we can do and plenty of things we can talk about," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"Ultimately it's down to the players to go and change that. We obviously didn't deliberately approach those two games as we played them but we do have to do something different.

"They [Plymouth] are a side that have been very good when they're on it, so we have to make sure that we try to find something different, particularly with a midweek away game.

"I think that's going to be the big message - that we need to change our mentality and mindset going into this one because Plymouth are a good side."

Mousinho said he feels "really confident" but respects Argyle's strong home record.

"I've got a different feeling about the side at the moment, particularly the way we played in the second half [in the 1-1 draw at Hull] and it's just about carrying that momentum into the game," he added.

The Pompey boss also praised the "amazing" fans who will be making another long trip to watch their side.

"Ultimately we need to try to get results," he added. "But the only thing the fans care about, I think, is making sure they see a team that reflects themselves and reflects the city."

Image source, BBC Sport

Plymouth Argyle are without a win in four (D1 L3) following a 3-0 defeat at Leeds and are only two places higher than bottom-side Portsmouth, who they welcome on Tuesday night.

Pompey have won just one game this season and arrive at Home Park off the back of a 1-1 draw at Hull City on Saturday.

• Plymouth Argyle are unbeaten in their last seven league games against Portsmouth (W2 D5) since a 3-0 defeat in September 2018.

• Portsmouth have lost their last two league visits to Plymouth and are winless in six at Home Park since a victory there in August 2015.

• Plymouth have lost only one of their last nine league games at Home Park (W5 D3), while they've scored exactly three goals in three of their last four league games there (W3 D1).

• Portsmouth have lost both their midweek league games this season. They last lost three successive such games in March 2021.

• Plymouth are unbeaten in their last four league games at Home Park (W3 D1), with three of those four seeing the Pilgrims score a result-altering goal in the 90th minute, with winners against Sunderland and Blackburn and an equaliser against Preston.

Image source, Rex Features

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