Chasing sunbeams and shooting for the stars: Why there's still hope for Portsmouth's Championship survival

Certainly time is a great healer, as demonstrated by Jermain Defoe’s Pompey well-wishers

Unveiled as Woking’s new head coach, an admittedly brave first foray into management, the career switch has attracted plenty of good luck messages.

Among them some members of the Fratton faithful, who have admirably moved on from the former striker’s grubby Blues exit in January 2009, where he agitated for a move to Spurs off the pitch and downed tools on it.

Likewise, it has been 11 days since the QPR debacle. The anger may have since subsided a little and perhaps the subsequent period of reflection has softened that once gloomy outlook.

Unquestionably, John Mousinho’s men produced a dreadful performance befitting a side heading back to League One as all flaws were brutally exposed in the one, abject match.

Yet with raging emotions now calmed and a sober set of eyes to analyse Pompey’s plight, this really isn’t the end of their latest Championship residence.

Rare occasion with travelling fans turned

Loftus Road may have given that damning impression, the shell-shocked players absolutely warranted the fans turning on them. Ever patient, ever optimistic, it was a rare occasion when the travelling support actually snapped.

Regardless, with eight matches and 33 days of the season now remaining, hope still exists. After all, the Fratton faithful have never slunk away from a fight or surrendered when presented with a lost cause.

Indeed, the Blues are currently positioned one point outside the relegation zone and armed with a game in hand. As a consequence, they remain in charge of their own destiny.

Rivals below may possess momentum, improved form, more preferable fixtures and goals within their team - but Mousinho’s team presently have that single point. On the board and in the bag.

As long as Pompey look after themselves effectively, then Oxford United and Leicester City cannot catch them. Particularly with visits to Fratton Park scheduled.

Fratton Park has lost its power

Admittedly, Fratton isn’t the happy hunting ground it once was. With 22 points from 19 home fixtures to date, only Oxford, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday possess a worse record.

Throw in defeats in the Carabao Cup (Reading) and FA Cup (Arsenal) on the south coast and the Blues have won just six of their 21 home matches in all competitions this term.

Last season Fratton Park was the relentless driving force behind Pompey’s Championship survival, particularly considering a mere three wins were recorded on the road all campaign. Clearly home advantage can still be pivotal, with four games to be played there.

Oxford will be the first to visit on Easter Monday, with Leicester booked in on April 18. Failure to triumph in both would surely mean the fight is over, League One beckons. Six points banked, however, could prove crucial.

Last season, Hull stayed up with 49 points and a superior goal difference following a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park on the final day. The likelihood is the Blues, who are on 40 points at present, need at least another nine from their last eight matches.

So where would the remaining win come from? Perhaps at a Coventry side on April 21 who may have already clinched their Premier League return and have little to play for? We all remember facing Wigan days after the League One title celebrations.

Maybe at Norwich, the setting for a shock 5-3 success this time last year? Granted, that was a different Colby Bishop leading the attack and a struggling manager overseeing the Canaries, yet who knows.

There’s a trip to Stoke on April 25, a side who have the 13th best home record in the division and are presently placed 15th, albeit already with as many points as they totalled in the whole of last term.

Dramatic final day?

Maybe on a dramatic final day against a big-spending Birmingham side who are fading fast from the promotion race? They are presently 10 points adrift of the play-off spots - and the likelihood is will be forced to stay in the Championship long before May 2.

Of course, what also must be considered in the survival battle is the fact that Leicester, Oxford and West Brom have still to play Sheffield Wednesday. Alas Pompey and Blackburn have already played that card.

Nonetheless, there remains hope to cling onto, straws to clutch, sunbeams to chase and stars to shoot for. It’s not over for Pompey. Yet.

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