Kenny Jackett has taken a philosophical view of Pompey's defeat at Bristol Rovers - admitting his side simply couldn't cope as the hosts threw everything at them after Oli Hawkins' goal.

The manager said they just couldn't get 'on the ball' as Rovers tried to save the game - but he suggested the result had to be taken in the context of a good run of recent form.

Jackett told The News: 'We always look at the goals (conceded) and where we need to improve. But it has to be put in context and the big picture looked at. The big picture is we’re hard-working, diligent and we want to be good defensively. That has to be the basis of what we do.

‘We have to be able to break at pace and be sure we’re a threat going the other way, too, though. That helps your defenders as well.’

Jackett added: ‘I felt after the goal we just couldn’t get on the ball. It was one-way traffic after we went 1-0 up. Maybe that’s just the way it is. That heart we’ve showed has kept us in games at times.

‘But it seemed like wave after wave for us to deal with and we just couldn’t get the ball into the two forwards. We couldn’t get up the pitch to relieve the pressure and that led to them getting the goals which won it. There was a lot of pressure to contend with. You hope you can keep defending but, ultimately, we couldn’t see it out. It was too much for us.’

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