Andy Awford says he has the squad to cope with suspensions and injuries - and it's a good job he has.

With Paul Robinson banned for the visit to Plymouth and James Dunne going under the knife for a knee op, the Pompey boss knows he will have to dig deep into his resources.

Finding a replacement for Robinson in the centre of defence is his most pressing task and Jack Whatmough is one of the contenders for the spot as he puts his injury problems behind him, as he explained to The News.

‘Since Jack’s injury he has only played 60 minutes in a reserve-team game at Bournemouth,' Awford said. ‘So it’s a case of making sure he is okay — he’s just coming back.

‘We have to look after the whole of our squad. Jack is a fantastic player and he will play his part, no doubt about that. I’ll lose Robinson now so that is going to need a rejig, so we’ll have a look at that now and make sure we get a result down at Plymouth. With Robbo’s sending off, somebody will get another opportunity.’

Speaking about a midfield that will be robbed of Dunne's ability for a spell, he said: ‘Nigel (Atangana) has come in and hasn’t played for a while and he probably needed the run — like a horse trainer would say.

‘Danny (Hollands) popped up with a goal and he got one last week. I’m glad that he got one on Sunday as well, obviously. Overall, he had a good game against Aldershot. But as a team we wanted to do better and try to get through.

‘The situation with James Dunne is the same — he will have an operation today and we will have a look after that. We’ve got a big enough squad to cope, though.’

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