'They're going to have to' - Former Portsmouth and Millwall favourite knows exactly what Fratton Park side need to retain Championship status

Former Pompey striker Teddy Sheringham insists character is key if John Mousinho’s side want to avoid an instant return to League One.

The Blues have spent large chunks of the season in the relegation zone - and returned their last night following Cardiff’s draw with Watford 0 as they’ve struggled to adapt with the step-up to Championship football. Pompey had to wait until mid-October for their first win and just five victories in total leaves them in 22nd - one place and one point from safety.

The optimist, however, would point to the fact Pompey have two games in hand on their relegation rivals, having seen meetings with Blackburn Rovers and Millwall postponed. A trip to the former has been rearranged for this evening and victory would pull them up to 20th, although that will be no easy task against a Rovers outfit chasing the play-offs.

The second half of the season will likely be just as difficult as the Blues scrap to pick up enough wins to ensure survival. But defeats will remain plentiful and Sheringham insists his former side will need to keep pushing on despite taking regular blows.

‘Yes, that's going to be a tough one for them,” the former Fratton Park frontman told OLBG when asked for his thoughts on Pompey’s survival chances. ‘They've fallen dramatically, so it's going to be a tough one. I know when you get down that relegation fight it’s tough. They're going to have to show some character to get out of that equation.’

Championship clubs fight for survival

While Pompey remain stuck in the bottom three, those games against Blackburn and Millwall mean survival is still in their own hands - a scenario many would have taken before the campaign kicked off. They are one of arguably nine teams fighting to remain in the Championship and even two draws from those games in hand would have them pull clear of the drop zone.

Cardiff City are just one point above Mousinho’s side, albeit they also have a slightly superior goal difference, while Luton Town are two points clear. The Hatters have just appointed Matt Bloomfield - the man whose final game in charge of Wycombe Wanderers was Friday’s FA Cup win over the Blues - to replace Rob Edwards as their struggles continue.

The first of those two games in hand is at Ewood Park this evening - a second long trip to Lancashire for the 2,000 Pompey fans who arrived in November, only for the game to be postponed. Mousinho insisted at the time both he and opposition boss John Eustace were desperate to play, but a pooling of water and worsening weather conditions left referee Farai Hallam with little option but to call the match off.

The rearranged fixture could allow new loan signing Isaac Hayden to make his debut, having been confirmed as Pompey’s second signing of the window last week. He joins fellow loan signing Rob Atkinson, who joined from Championship rivals Bristol City earlier this month.

Goalkeeper Jordan Archer is a doubt for the game, having come off during Friday’s FA Cup defeat to Wycombe Wanderers with a suspected quad injury. Jacob Farrell is out for the season after undergoing surgery on a knee injury, while Conor Shaughnessy, Kusini Yengi, Regan Poole, Ibane Bowatt and Mark O’Mahony remain sidelined.