Portsmouth were one of the favourites for automatic promotion going into the season, but Kenny Jackett is a man under pressure after a poor start in League One. Is their cup run to blame?

Little over ten years ago Portsmouth lofted the FA Cup in front of nearly 90,000 fans at Wembley. Harry Redknapp’s friendly face and the success he bought to Portsmouth is a distant memory for fans, who’ve endured darker times of late.

Pompey’s fall from grace began when they finished bottom of the Premier League in 2010. That was the first of three relegations in four seasons for the club who found themself a League Two outfit ahead of the 2013/14 season. 

Financial misfortune was the catalyst behind their demise. The club faced a winding-up order before relegation from the top flight, and their worsening financial state caused them to free-fall down the Football League pyramid.

Promotion to League One in 2017 under Paul Cook gave life to the South Coast side, who look revitalised and ready to start their ascent up the divisions. But Cook would go on to leave Pompey for Wigan in the summer of their promotion, and Kenny Jackett came in to the club.

Jacket had a solid start to his Portsmouth reign with an 8th-place finish in the 2017/18 season, and last season went one step further - lifting the EFL Trophy after beating Sunderland at Wembley and finishing fourth. Pompey made the play-offs and in the semi-finals met Sunderland, who won the tie 1-0 on aggregate.

The loss was a blow for Jackett and Pompey fans, and their momentum seems to have faultered this season. Portsmouth are 19th with nine points from eight league games, and just two league wins so far this season. 

Jackett’s team have a couple of games in hand in League One, after some good form in cup competitions has seen them play only eight so far. Portsmouth made it to the Carabao Cup Round of 16 beating Birmingham and QPR en route to a 4-0 at home to southern rivals Southampton, they’re also top of their EFL Trophy group with two wins from two.

The verdict

After progressively making their way back up the Football League, Portsmouth were expected to take the next step this season and push for the League One title, let alone promotion. But their season so far has been disappointing. Jackett is a man under-fire of late, an uninspiring 1-0 against Bolton on Saturday may calm some of the critics momentarily, but his side need to get more points on the board.

Pompey had a good run in the Carabao Cup, and played their fifth cup match of the season against Southampton earlier this month. But with their upsets in the cup there’s a feeling that Jackett is favouring cup glory again this season instead of league. He’s fielded his strongest possible eleven in each of the five cup games they’ve played this season, and it’s likely the reason behind their poor league return.