Pinnock confident underdogs Cobblers can play up at league leaders Pompey

Out-of-sorts in defeat to Shrewsbury Town, Jon Brady’s side start a run of six successive games against top half opposition when they head to Fratton Park to take on table-topping Portsmouth on Saturday.

Mitch Pinnock, who is one of only two players to have started every league game this season, says the squad is determined to bounce back.

"It’s important not to get too down about one game,” he said. “We know we weren’t at our best and we weren’t able to get any tempo in the game.

"But we won’t beat ourselves up about it. We’ve watched it back and we can learn things but we’ll move on quickly and focus on the next game, which is a big one against Portsmouth.

"I thought they were one of the best teams we’ve played when they beat us at our place earlier in the season.

"But we have shown already this season that we can compete against the best teams in this league and we’ll go there on Saturday trying to win the game.

"There are no expectations on us but I believe we can go there and win the game if we perform like we know we can.”

Pinnock offered no excuses for Town’s oddly below-par showing against Shrewsbury, but the stop-start nature of their January schedule certainly hasn’t helped matters.

He added: "You would rather play week in, week out because you want to be playing regularly and keep that sharpness in your legs.

“But the Oxford game was called off which meant we had a little break before Charlton and that can make it a bit harder to find your rhythm again and it just turned into one of those days for us.

"If you’re off it, even just a little bit at this level, you’ll struggle and there were too many of us who weren’t at their best, myself included.

"We weren’t as lively as the Charlton game and we didn’t have the same energy, maybe that game took something out of us, but it’s something that happens every now and again and all you can do is move onto the next game and look to put it right.”

The reverse fixture at Sixfields, won 3-0 by Portsmouth, was one of the few occasions this season that Cobblers have gone down with a whimper.

Pinnock continued: "We haven’t had many big defeats this season so we want revenge and there’s no better place to go and win than at their ground.

"There will be a big crowd in and I’m sure our fans will be there in their numbers because they’ve travelled brilliantly this season, so hopefully we can come away with three points.”

Pompey have stuttered of late but with nearly 20,000 supporters ready to roar them on, they’ll be desperate to maintain their promotion charge this weekend.

"It’s something you relish," Pinnock added. “Personally I enjoy it and I want to be playing in these big stadiums and in front of big crowds.

“It feels a lot different compared to say a Stevenage or Cheltenham and the atmosphere is unbelievable, and as a footballer, you want to play in front of big crowds, even if most of them are supporting the other team.

"I’m looking forward to it.”