Why the presence of nearly 2,000 Portsmouth fans should’ve been enough to kick-start promotion push at Wycombe

That’s the view of The News’ head of sport, Mark McMahon, who claims Pompey fans – who braved the cold conditions and spent their hard-earned money to go watch their team – should’ve been enough to inspire a win.

Blues supporters travelled in their thousands once again as they made the Sunday lunchtime trip to Adams Park.

Yet, their backing wasn’t enough to help Cowley’s outfit secure three much-needed points as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Gareth Ainsworth’s side.

That sparked plenty of disgruntlement from the travelling contingency, who vented their frustrations with boos at the full-time whistle.

However, it should never have come to that according to McMahon, who is adamant Pompey should’ve been inspired by their away backing.

In the latest episode of Pompey Talk, The News’ head of sport said: ‘When you’re at an away ground and you see 2,000 Pompey fans, that should give you confidence as a player.

‘If a player’s confidence is lacking slightly, the fact that there are 2,000 people there to cheer you on and are willing you to do well should be a confidence booster in itself.

‘For example, I was randomly at Forest Green against Cambridge on Saturday. Cambridge had around 200 fans in a crowd of 2,000.

‘I can see why Cambridge might not be up for a game like that, but if you're a Pompey player and you have that backing, that should be a show of force.’

Despite McMahon’s views, The News’ Pompey writer Jordan Cross insisted the presence of a large backing can benefit some players but might not have the same impact on others.

‘Every character is different,’ he added.

‘That would get me really up for it, I only played football to a certain level but I always liked to play in front of any sort of crowd and that would get me fired up.

‘At League One level, these players have faults and even at higher levels confidence can be a brittle commodity and will get affected.

‘There’s players at Pompey like Josh Koroma, whose confidence has taken a hit.

‘I’ve also seen Pompey and the size of the club, particularly in the lower tiers, consume many players and it would be too much for them and couldn’t handle it.

‘You’ve got young people in there as well, players like Jay Mingi, what a talent he is, but his form will fluctuate and his confidence will eb and flow because he is a young lad and is still learning the game.

‘Dane Scarlett is a rare exception. He is so single-minded, it’s incredible that even at 18 he can just get on with it.

‘You need to create the right conditions and that’s why Danny Cowley has worked so hard in trying to show the supporters what's going on, what they’re doing and how they’re operating.

‘Social media has helped give an insight into what’s working at Pompey and how they’re trying to develop things and that was played into creating the conditions Pompey thrived in for much of the first part of the season. Maybe we need to get back to that a bit more.’