Sky Sports pundit and ex-Portsmouth man makes exciting Blues admission after massive Ipswich Town ‘statement’
Pompey lifted themselves four points clear of the Championship relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on Tuesday evening.
Michael Brown believes Pompey sent their Championship relegation rivals a ‘massive statement’ following Tuesday’s huge triumph over Ipswich Town.
And the ex-Blues midfielder lauded his former side's ‘controlled’ display as they increased their advantage over the relegation zone.
John Mousinho’s troops made back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since February, with a 2-0 triumph over the second-placed Tractor Boys to move themselves further clear of the bottom three.
The triumph lifted Pompey up to 19th and crucially four points clear of 22nd-placed Oxford United with four games remaining in the campaign.
Indeed, Brown, who was joined by the ineligible Conor Chaplin in the Sky Sports studios on Tuesday, was hugely impressed by his former side’s no-nonsense display against the high-flying Ipswich.
Pompey send ‘massive statement’ to Championship relegation rivals
And the ex-midfielder, who amassed 59 appearances at Fratton Park between 2009 and 2011, is in full belief the Blues sent a ‘massive statement’ to their rivals as the battle to beat the drop intensifies.
‘It’s a massive statement,’ the 49-year-old told Sky Sports after the game.
‘We discussed before the match about changing tactics and being a little bit more direct. But it’s about finding a way to get results in this league however you find it.
‘Going away from home gave them a bit of confidence. That result at home against Oxford where it was a late equaliser then built the confidence at Fratton Park, where they’ve struggled - a really poor run of results at a place where nobody really wants to go to.
‘So to go and get this result against Ipswich in particular and the way they’ve gone about it by limiting them to opportunities.
‘It was a really controlled performance, all while one of their star players (Conor Chaplin) is sitting next to us. It’s a massive result for Portsmouth.’
Conor Chaplin’s Pompey v Ipswich verdict
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Brown was joined by Chaplin in the Sky Sports studios, with the 29-year-old ineligible to play against his parent club as per his Fratton Park loan agreement.
The forward, who netted his second goal of the campaign against Middlesbrough over the weekend, wasn’t shy to share his thoughts on the key showdown which had huge implications at either end of the standings.
In fact, Chaplin instated his Mousinho’s troops ‘deserved’ maximum points and were worthy winners against the promotion hopefuls and his parent club.
He added: ‘I think Pompey deserved it. Ipswich and the manager there will be really disappointed with the performance.
‘Not an easy place to go by any means so I know they would’ve been expecting a tough game but they (Pompey) showed us exactly what they’ve got.;