Pompey's opening month will either be okay - or encouraging. Which of those two, according to John Mousinho, depends on whether they can beat Preston at Fratton Park on Saturday.

Ahead of the first international break of the season, Pompey will either have a healthy seven points from four games - or a slightly below par four.

Looking ahead to PNE's visit, Mousinho told the club website: 'We’ve had some good performances and also let ourselves down in some situations – overall I’d say we’ve been solid. The first international break came at a decent point last season because we had a few injuries, although we’re not too thin on the ground this time.

'We’ve had the boys in since the end of June, so it would be useful to give them some time off, while also making the most of the extra training time. A win on Saturday would, I feel, mean we have a really encouraging record going into the break, as opposed to it just being okay.

'But we’re coming up against a solid team who have already taken maximum points off a couple of promotion favourites. They’ll be difficult to play against and Paul Heckingbottom has a good record at this level. He steadied the ship when he came in and has recruited well over the summer.

'We know that everyone has been talking about the derby next month, but that’s not the case inside the building and we’re only focusing on Preston.'

Pompey will be without Callum Lang for eight to 12 weeks, at the best guess, while Colby Bishop is fine for this weekend after a minor knock at West Brom.

Defender Josh Knight is a contender for a start or a place on the bench.

Photo: Action Images

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