Former Norwich City and Swindon Town man pinpoints moment which could be pivotal in Portsmouth's season

The Blues midfielder believes Danny Cowley’s men have rediscovered an intensity missing in their game, after the 2-1 success over Burton Albion.

Last night’s victory was Pompey’s first of 2022, with six winless games preceding the clash at Fratton Park.

Pompey earned plaudits for the quality of their display in defeat at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday, as they produced a gutsy showing for 74 minutes with 10 men.

They were eventually left empty-handed after two late goals, but Thompson noted a response from Pompey fans which suggested there was a platform to build on.

That was used last night, as Cowley’s men showed graft over craft to get the job done against the Brewers.

Thompson said: ‘When we play with the intensity of the past two games, I think the fans have shown the reaction will always be the same - and they will be behind us.

‘They’ve always supported us when that’s the case, so it’s what we’ve got to do.

‘We’ve shown some fight when things were going against us on Saturday.

‘Now we’ve done the same again against Burton and we’re really showing some resilience.

‘So we’ve got to keep playing on the front foot and see where that gets us.’

Thompson’s influence has intensified in midfield, after Pompey’s bid to see Joe Morrell’s red card on Saturday overturned fell on deaf ears at the FA.

With Shaun Williams out with a fractured spine and Ryan Tunnicliffe coming back from hamstring issues, the former Norwich man is now central to Cowley’s plans.

He added: ‘It’s a blow, absolutely, to lose Joe.

‘We’ve had a fantastic midfield this season.

‘It’s really unfortunate what has happened to Willo (Williams).

‘Most importantly the players have to surround him and help him recover.

‘I don’t think you’d want to see any player go through that, let alone a team-mate and someone of Willo’s presence.

‘He’s a big loss but hopefully we can get a few wins and he can join us later.

‘We’ve got a tight squad at the minute so losing anyone is hurting us.’