Matt Clarke says Pompey must quickly get over the disappointment of not beating Hartlepool and get on with the job of picking up points in their festive fixtures.

The defender admitted it was frustrating not to get the better of Craig Hignett's team but stressed there were plenty of opportunities coming up for the team to pick up points.

Clarke told the club website: 'It was just one of those days for us and of course it’s frustrating because we dominated the game. We created some good chances and their keeper made some great saves, so we were unlucky not to end up with all three points.

'For long periods of the second half Hartlepool sacrificed any offensive players — they just sat in and tried to make it difficult for us. The manager’s shown belief in the players and it’s up to us to perform well and try to get a run of wins together.

'We’ve just got to keep working hard on the training pitch and hopefully we’ll beat Newport on Boxing Day.

'It’s easier when it’s like that and there’s not so much time between games because you get into a routine. Hopefully we can kick on in the next few weeks and collect a lot of points to move into that top three.'

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