Pompey boss Paul Cook is refusing to get carried away by the ups or the downs of the Blues' promotion bid.

As they head to Mansfield on Saturday, fans will be wondering which team will turn up - the one that breezed to victory at Accrington or the one who capitualted at home to Newport County.

Cook told the Pompey website: 'The day couldn’t have gone any worse last weekend, but that’s the way football can go sometimes. We went from one of the best performances one of my sides has ever given to one of the worst. But there are 10 games to go and we’re talking about a team that could still be promoted automatically.

'If we did that then everyone would be jumping up and down, so I think some of the criticism is unfair. I didn’t tell everyone how good we were after beating Accrington and I’m not going to tell everyone how bad we were after losing to Newport.

'It’s the teams that overcome these disappointments the quickest that are the ones who will go up at the end of the season. There is such a huge prize ahead and there is a lot to play for, so the challenge for the players is to shake off the inconsistency.

'That might require changes in personnel — I’ve shown unwavering loyalty to some players and maybe I’m questioning that belief. But we’re just moving on to the next game and looking forward to facing Mansfield this weekend.'

Pompey head to Field Mill in sixth spot, with Mansfield not out of the play-off race themselves in 11th. The Blues remain six points off an all-important top three place.

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