Gaffer: Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner has to put his hand in his pocket - or Fratton faithful will turn

Let me guess who your man of the match is!

It’s Matt Ritchie, it’s got to be - he’s a Gosport lad! His sister lives behind me, our gardens back onto each other. Matt used to live in a place called The Chase, on Privett Road, up the road.

I’ve championed him throughout the season and am glad to see him back at the club. It didn't work out initially, but since he’s got that fitness, he’s been an absolute force. I think he’s brilliant.

He should never have left the club all those years ago, yet went on to bigger and better things. He’s now come back and the work-rate he puts in every game is phenomenal. He’s like a terrier.

How do you assess Pompey’s performance?

When Middlesbrough went 1-0 up, I thought that’s it. I didn't believe we were going to win. At half-time I honestly thought it was going to be 2-1 to Boro.

Look at us, we’ve got no-one to impact us from the bench and no strength in depth, as we all know. Then in the second half, I don’t know whether they switched off or we switched on.

It’s the old analogy about a game of two halves. Emmanuel Latte Lath had a strike within the opening 40 seconds and I thought we were in for a hiding.

They had him, who you can see is rated £19m, Delano Burgzorg, their skipper Hayden Hackey, Middlesbrough oozed class all over the pitch.

Our starting XI is okay, but when we start our best XI we always finish the game weaker because tired legs mean we have to use the bench.

What did you make of the home debuts of Rob Atkinson and Isaac Hayden?

For me, Atkinson had Raggett vibes. He looked like Raggett, but with a bit more panache.

It’s early days, he does look like a centre-half, which is half the battle, but he still needs more games. He did all right against Middlesbrough and wins the ball well, although his distribution and the way he heads the ball could be better. It’s early days, he’s been out a long time.

Hayden was solid, but we have too many players similar in that position, with Freddie Potts and Andre Dozzell.

The lad hasn't played for a long time and is getting into routine with our style of play and players he’s playing with. I think he will be better, but we need more creativity in the centre of the park.

So what would you say to Michael Eisner about the transfer window?

It would be ‘Open the coffers Michael. You’ve got the potential there, we’ve got a really good team and a huge fanbase.’

If we want to stay in the league, he needs to get his hand in his pocket and pay some decent transfer fees for some Championship-proven players.

It’s all well and good signing Thomas Waddingham from bottom-three Brisbane Roar who no-one's ever heard of. We need players now to keep us in the league to stop us going into the bottom three.

If we stay in the league, that’s a result, we can build for next season - but you have to stay in the league. The fans are on the cusp of turning at the moment. I’m on the fence.

We are spending the same sort of money we did in the 1980s when buying the likes of Warren Aspinall. They need to up their game, otherwise the fans will turn. Then that’s it, you’ve lost them.

Nicolas Schmid - 6

Jordan Williams - 7

Marlon Pack - 7

Rob Atkinson - 7

Connor Ogilvie - 7

Freddie Potts - 6

Isaac Hayden - 7

Matt Ritchie - 10

Callum Lang - 8

Josh Murphy - 6

Colby Bishop - 7