Portsmouth skipper's honest message to Fratton faithful after familiar Christmas set-back

Marlon Pack issued a Pompey rallying cry and insisted: ‘Don’t panic’.

The Blues slipped to their maiden League One defeat on the road this season following a last-gasp 2-1 loss at Bristol Rovers on Boxing Day.

It followed a deeply disappointing 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Fleetwood, which now leaves John Mousinho’s men four points clear at the top.

As a passionate Pompey fan, Pack doesn’t need educating about previous post-Christmas promotion collapses during the last six years.

Yet while he understands the trepidation among the Fratton faithful, the skipper has delivered a powerful upbeat message.

Pack told The News: ‘I’ve given the same message to the dressing room.

‘Look at what we’ve done so far this season, look at what we've done to get us where we are. We are disappointed and angry at the minute, but the next game comes really quickly - win that and this one is forgotten about.

‘As much as you try to stay away from social media, I know there’s a bit of a Pompey nightmare around Christmas periods, but I have every faith in this group, genuinely.

‘We just have to be a little smarter in the right areas and cuter in both boxes, but I don’t think there’s too much to panic about.

‘Naturally there’s going to be questions, I have been in football long enough, that’s how it goes.

‘There are going to be questions now asked as a group, questions we need to ask within the group. Also from the outside, not only our fans but other supporters. Everyone will be looking at us.

‘We now respond by doing what we’ve been doing so great this season, that’s being accountable, rolling our sleeves up and looking forward to the next game.

‘What we’ve done very well is being consistent, that’s not just on the football pitch, that’s off it as well. It’s how we approach games, how we look into matches, even the debrief.

‘With such an intense period of games in close proximity, we have the opportunity to go again. It’s about recovering, learning from this, but it’s really fine margins

‘We know we can be better and that will now be a demand from the group. It’s a message which will be passed down from the management team - but, as a group, we’ll also be asking it ourselves.’

Luke Thomas’ 94th-minute finish secured victory for Rovers to break Pompey hearts.

And Pack acknowledged the Blues hadn’t performed to standards expected at the Memorial Stadium after setting the bar so high this term.

He added: ‘At times against Bristol Rovers, we fell a bit short in the areas where I know we can be better.

‘To be honest, in that game it felt like they were going to be happy with a point and their goalkeeper was booked for time wasting.

‘We need to be clinical when on top and also, at the end, must defend our goal a bit better.’