Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley reveals where squad was when EFL announced Barnsley postponement and forced coach U-turn

The Blues boss admitted he and his squad were already on the team coach, on their way to Oakwell on Friday, when they learned of the change in circumstances.

Following the passing of the Queen on Thursday, discussions took place between the government and the ‘sports sector’ to determine how football should react to the news.

This subsequently saw the EFL and Premier League make the decision to call off their latest round of fixtures – something which Cowley has since reflected on.

Although uncertainty surrounded the game against the Tykes, the Pompey squad continued their preparations and started to make their way to Yorkshire, with a coach trip to King’s Cross preceding a train journey north.

The Blues boss claimed he’d have liked the powers-that-be to come to a decision sooner, which would have prevented his side from having to turn the coach around while en route to Barnsley.

He told The News: ‘It was a disruptive weekend, which we understand in the circumstances.

‘Probably in an ideal world, we would’ve liked the powers above us to make a decision a bit quicker.

‘We trained on Friday morning in preparation for Barnsley and we were already on the coach about half-an-hour into our journey when we got turned around.

‘We had a 2pm train to catch. The boys were in for 8.30am and trained early.

‘We were on the coach going to Kings Cross (when we heard the news).

‘We like the train in terms of it gives us an ETA which is pretty accurate. Sometimes Friday afternoon travelling at this time of year can be difficult, as we’ve found.

‘With the amount of travel we have to do, we try to mix it up and give players a different stimulus.’

Pompey return to action on Tuesday night as they make another trip north to face early strugglers Burton at the Pirelli Stadium.

Cowley revealed attention quickly turned to the tie against the Brewers once they learned of the postponement on Friday.

He added: ‘Our attention straight away turned to Burton. We spent the rest of Friday and Saturday morning watching Burton and then had a really good session with the boys that afternoon.

‘It allowed us to do some tactical work and some physical work. It was a really good session for the whole group.’