The two big factors offering Portsmouth confidence ahead of Charlton Athletic showdown
There’s gloom around Fratton after Pompey dropped into the relegation places on Saturday. Blues chief executive, Andy Cullen, sees two significant reasons why fortunes can soon improve, however.
A ‘chaotic’ Championship table and key returning figures are offering Pompey Championship optimism through a testing period.
Andy Cullen pointed to the rapidly shifting fortunes of sides in a condensed second-tier table, as evidence of how things can quickly improve for the Blues this term.
Pompey chief: ‘It’s about staying calm and fixing challenges’
And key men returning to John Mousinho’s squad offers a further reason for hope they can turn the corner, as they approach the Christmas period.
Pompey fell into the Championship bottom three on Saturday after defeat to Bristol City, with the 1-0 reverse making it a single success in nine league fixtures.
But with six points between the Blues in 22nd and Wrexham in 10th Cullen believes things can swing very quickly, as the trip to The Valley arrives at the start of another three games in eight days with Swansea and Blackburn to follow.
He said: ‘It’s all about staying calm and fixing the various challenges which lie in front of you. ‘That’s the nature of the beast. We’re not short-termists, it’s about keeping calm and it’s not just about the last result.
‘A week is a long time in football, from Saturday to Saturday. You contrasting emotions from a really good win against Millwall to the feelings on Saturday and a game on Wednesday, where the complexion was changed by the red card in a game we were well in until that point.
‘Obviously the results are important but the goal for everybody, whether you’re in the dressing room or on the terraces, is to keep progressing the football club.
‘We are in what is a chaotic Championship at the moment, and across six games you get high swings for a number of teams.
‘Fortunes can change very quickly - and we’re seeing that at the moment.
‘Coventry were three points clear and then go 10 points clear. Then in the reverse situation, Swansea go from 13th to 21st with one goal better goal difference than us.
‘Charlton were riding high at sixth and are now 17th. It’s just the nature of a very, very competitive Championship. Fortunes can change quickly.’
Cullen: Players are coming back for Pompey
Pompey have once again faced their share of injury issues this term, with their problems focussed on attacking areas.
Josh Murphy is now fit and firing after an ankle issue, with Nico Schmid back between the sticks after suffering a fractured bone in his hand. Meanwhile, key man Callum Lang started his first game on Saturday since undergoing hamstring surgery in August.
Cullen added: ‘We are in a place where we feel very positive because players are coming back, getting fitter and stronger. That’s going to impact the next few games.
‘We’ve got a really, really strong and talented coaching team who have risen to challenges here in recent seasons. We don’t panic because of the short term, we look to impact the medium and long term.
‘We have an admired coach in John who’s had incredible success, and also come at challenges thrown at him. So we look to the long term, and want to progress and improve.’