Teams being cleverer away from home are making home victories less of a formality than they often used to be at Pompey's level.
So says Blues boss Paul Cook as he looks ahead to Hartlepool's visit on Saturday for a game he says will not be as straightforward as some fans may think.
Cook told the Pompey website: 'Hartlepool, like every club in this division, will be difficult opponents. A lot more teams seem to win on the road now because they’re cleverer in how they play. At the minute they’re not in a particularly great place after some difficult results, but nothing can be taken for granted.
'It’s Craig Hignett’s first managerial role. I’ve got no doubt that he’s learning a lot about his players and he’ll be better for the experience. But everyone’s got a tough job and there are different pressures for different reasons — we’ll just try to concentrate on our own.'
Cook said a lot of water had gone under the bridge since the last home game, the 2-1 defeat to Stevenage on November 26.
He told the site: 'A lot of stuff was said after the Stevenage game — most of it was negative and a lot of it was valid. But the atmosphere always changes after a win and the result at Grimsby has given us all a new lease of life. We can certainly look forward with a lot more optimism.
'Everyone goes on about the home form, but for me we’re going into our 21st game looking upwards rather than downwards.'
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