BRYN MORRIS has highlighted Pompey’s squad depth and fitness as crucial factors in the play-off second leg on Monday night. The midfielder was a shock inclusion in the Portsmouth starting line-up in Friday night’s 1-1 draw against Oxford United in place of captain Tom Naylor, after spending more than a year on the sidelines. The 24-year-old performed well in a tight game, and is confident Kenny Jackett’s side can complete the job on Monday night at the Kassam Stadium and claim a place at Wembley in a week's time. “It’s a squad game and we’ve got a lot of depth, especially with the extra subs ..read more

POMPEY top scorer Ronan Curtis firmly believes Kenny Jackett’s side have the quality to bury their play-off hoodoo and claim the prize of Championship football on July 13. The Republic of Ireland international is a certain starter for Friday night’s play-off semi-final first leg against Oxford United at Fratton Park, but the 24-year-old’s sights are already set on Wembley a week on Monday. Curtis was part of the side that were beaten in the play-off semi-final by Sunderland last season, and he will be very aware that Pompey are yet to win a play-off game. He endured a difficult start to the c ..read more

PORTSMOUTH boss Kenny Jackett has insisted his side will be ready for the challenges that await them on the pitch and in the stands when they face Oxford United in the play-off semi-final. Pompey go into Friday night’s first leg with an unbeaten home record in the league this season, but they will be without the assistance of the home crowd that makes Fratton Park such a daunting prospect for away sides. The lack of atmosphere inside the ground is something Jackett has discussed with his squad, and he is confident the prize of a place in the Championship will help his players put the bizarre ..read more

THE League One play-offs will be Christian Burgess’s Pompey swansong after the centre back signed a pre-contract agreement with Belgian side Royal Union Saint-Gilloise. The move to Belgium ends Burgess’s five-year association with Portsmouth, the 28-year-old currently enjoying his best season at the club. In February, manager Kenny Jackett was hopeful Burgess would sign a contract before the current season ended, but at the time the club admitted they were far from agreeing a new deal with the former Peterborough United man. Now Burgess has opted for a switch to the Brussels suburbs after sig ..read more

THE first-leg play-off semi-final clash against Oxford United will be at Fratton Park three weeks tonight. Pompey are at home to the Us before the second leg three days later at the Kassam Stadium. The winners face either Wycombe or Fleetwood for a place in the Championship. The game at Fratton Park is on Friday, July 3, 5.30pm kick-off, with the return match on Monday, July 6, 5pm kick-off. The final will be held at Wembley Stadium on Monday, July 13, 7.30pm kick-off. All games will be behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All play-off games will be screened live on Sky Sports an ..read more

PORTSMOUTH have finalised details of the available options for supporters who purchased tickets for games cancelled due to the coronavirus. Pompey had home games against Accrington Stanley, Doncaster Rovers, Blackpool and Bristol Rovers remaining when the season stopped, matches which have now effectively been decided by a scientific computer model. With the decision on Tuesday to end the regulation season, the club are giving season ticket holders the following options: - online accounts will be credited to the value of 4/23 of the cost of individual season tickets. This can be used when pur ..read more

PORTSMOUTH have revealed that two of the club’s players have tested positive for coronavirus. The players’ identities have not been revealed and they become the sixth and seventh members the Pompey squad that have contracted Covid-19. Both players are not displaying any symptoms and they will self-isolate in accordance with EFL guidelines. Portsmouth were at the centre of an outbreak in late March when five players – Ross McCrorie, James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Haji Mnoga and Sean Raggett – all produced positive results. At the beginning of the lockdown the club tested all first-team players and ..read more

LEAGUE ONE clubs have voted to end the regular season with immediate effect leaving Pompey facing a play-off semi-final clash against Oxford United. An extraordinary English Football League, EFL, meeting saw third tier clubs agree to implement a points-per-game, PPG, model for the remaining fixtures. The move means Coventry City and Rotherham United are automatically promoted, with Portsmouth and Oxford joined by Fleetwood Town and Wycombe Wanderers in the play-offs. Details of the play-off semi-finals are still to be finalised with the vote also meaning Bolton, Southend and Tranmere will be ..read more

PORTSMOUTH will end up in the League One play-offs this summer if the regular season ends without a ball being kicked, and the English Football League board’s recommendations to clubs are accepted. The EFL wants promotion and relegation from the three divisions below the Premier League to be upheld, with play-offs in League One, the Championship, and League Two played. With 51 per cent of League One clubs needed to support the ruling that the season is effectively curtailed with immediate effect, Pompey’s hopes that all games can still be played appears unlikely. And chief executive Mark Catl ..read more

MARK CATLIN has reiterated his hope that the League One season can resume on the pitch, but if it doesn’t then the Pompey chief executive is calling for the current campaign to be voided. Catlin is against the imposition of a points-per-game, PPG, model to decide the outcome of League One, believing it would be unfair on those clubs who miss out on promotion, or those who may end up relegated. League One clubs have resumed talks on how to complete the campaign after failing to reach an agreement last week when League Two clubs voted to end their season with immediate effect; promotion issues ..read more