Popular podcaster delivers worrying verdict on Portsmouth’s Championship survival chances
Pompey’s defensive injury woes could see them dragged back into the Championship relegation fight.
That’s the verdict of podcaster Justin Peach from the Second Tier Podcaster, who believes the Blues are far from safety following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to rivals Luton.
Fears of relegation once again crept into some of the minds of the Fratton faithful after the disappointing loss at Kenilworth Road brought an end to Pompey’s three-game winning run.
The defeat on the road leaves the Blues eight points above the bottom three in 17th place, with 11 games to go in the run-in.
More importantly, John Mousinho will be without January signings Hayden Matthews, who will be absent for the remainder of the campaign as he requirines ankle surgery, and Bristol City loanee Rob Atkinson, who is set to miss 6-8 weeks because of a calf issue.
It’s a double defensive injury blow for Pompey, who are also currently without fellow centre-backs Conor Shaughnessy (hamstring) and Ibane Bowat (knee).
This saw midfielder Marlon Pack once again used as a makeshift centre-half as he lined-up alongside Regan Poole at the heart of the backline for the game against the Hatters.
The 33-year-old’s return to the backline, coupled with Pompey’s growing injury list, raises alarm bells for Peach, who believes the Blues still have much to do to secure their Championship safety.
Speaking on the latest Second Tier Podcast episode, he said: ‘It’s not ideal. I’m a bit nervous about these injuries to Atkinson and Matthews because they’ve been a very important cog in Pompey’s pick-up in performances. They have been superb.
‘When you’re going away to Luton – these are the games you don’t want to be losing. I know it was a tight game, I know it was on edge, but it does make me start to worry about them being dragged back into a dogfight a little bit.
‘Do they have enough defensively to get out of it? Marlon Pack dropping back into the backline does concern me a little bit. I did think he had a pretty decent game against Luton but it wasn’t a game full of quality so it was hard to take too much away from it. There’s a nervousness and a tentativeness from me about Pompey’s survival.’
