Danny Cowley was under pressure in the Portsmouth hotseat when his side arrived at Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

Pompey took an early lead but eventually had to come back to take a point in what was a positive performance considering the recent heavy defeats to Rotherham United and Ipswich Town.

Cowley was keen to point out the spirit his team showed when he spoke to Portsmouth.co.uk.

He explained: "It’s for me to commend their resilience, grit and determination they showed. They also responded to conceding the second goal, and that gives us a platform to hopefully build and push on from.

"We now have a run of home games - and we have to capitalise on that."

Pompey are eight points off the play-offs in 16th, a place that Cowley's cannot afford them to linger in too long as it seems like the minimum expectation of the club's hierarchy and the fan base will be for him to deliver a top six push this term.

Bolton Wanderers and Cheltenham Town next up at Fratton Park provides a great opportunity for Pompey to begin turning their form around. The former is a very intriguing matchup with Wanderers having already hammered Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic on their travels this season.

The Verdict

They have had a tough recent run of fixtures but there is no excusing this Pompey squad languishing in the bottom half of League One. It does feel as if Cowley is still trying to find his best system and starting XI to get the most out of key men Ronan Curtis and Marcus Harness.

Portsmouth were much the better side at Accrington at the weekend despite having to rescue a point and will be confident of earning some positive results back in front of their home faithful.

Cowley has not been under pressure in a dugout for some time after such successful stints at Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town and it is going to be a huge test of his resolve to turn Pompey's form around in the coming weeks.