Yesterday's defeat to Burton was another reality check for Portsmouth fans as Andy Awford's men suffered their second consecutive league defeat.
Pompey fell behind in the second minute thanks to some static defending which allowed a mishit shot from Stuart Beavon to reach Adam McGurk at the far post who had an easy tap in having beaten Alex Wynter to the ball.
That gave the visitors a mountain to climb as Burton are known for their dogged defending and had players to block incoming crosses and shots on target. Pompey managed to muster a couple of volleys off target when they finally got going but the Brewers also kept the Pompey defence busy and generally had the better of the first half.
Pompey's best chance of the match came early in the second half when Johnny Ertl sent a ball into the box but Wynter couldn't poke the ball home with Jon McLaughlin blocking his two close range efforts.
The game was then virtually killed off as Burton clinched a second goal when Lucas Akins turned in the box and curled the ball past Paul Jones who had no chance of saving it.
For all of their possession Pompey never really looked like pulling a goal back and thus their second defeat in the league was confirmed as their opponents returned to the top of League Two.
Whilst it wasn't the greatest performance ever I was surprised to see how many Pompey fans were blasting the team and the manager for being "awful" whilst claiming it was the worst performance they have seen from a Portsmouth team for ages.
These people either have very short memories and forget how bad Pompey were under Richie Barker or only ever watch their team on TV and still think we're in the Premier League.
The reason why Jed Wallace isn't able to beat five players and score, or the defenders aren't alert enough to cut out dangerous crosses, or the midfielders can't find the top corner with a dipping volley because if they could, they wouldn't be playing in League Two and this performance was a reminder of just exactly where Pompey are in their recovery.
Gary Rowett's men did all the basics right and have the makings of a good team. Some people had them down as the value bet to win promotion this season and after watching them yesterday you would have to think that they'll go one better than last season.
As for Pompey's own performance, it was good in spells and when the players got the ball down and played then they showed they were capable of playing some good football.
However, the attackers were too easily snuffed out on the wings and Westcarr and Taylor had to feed off scraps. The defending still needs some work because whilst the second goal was a good finish, the first was criminal.
The pressure is on to get a result at Southend on Saturday now. They've had a mediocre start to the season and they are a team Pompey should be beating if they are to be serious promotion contenders. Another defeat may just see a few Pompey fans begin to ask questions of the management...
Pompey Player Ratings
Paul Jones: 6 - No chance with either goal.
Alex Wynter: 5 - Caught out for first goal and fluffed Pompey's best chance in the game. Twice.
Johnny Ertl: 5 - Lack of pace was shown up.
Paul Robinson: 6 - Put his body on the line.
Nicky Shorey: 6 - A mixed bag with some good passing but lousy defending at times too.
Danny Hollands: 5 - A shadow of the player we had last season.
James Dunne: 6 - Average showing.
Jed Wallace: 6 - Worked hard but never had much going forward.
Craig Westcarr: 6 - Did what he could with little service.
Ricky Holmes: 5 - Usually scores against Burton but had little effect yesterday.
Ryan Taylor: 5 - Wasn't allowed to influence the game.
Substitutes
Michael Poke
Adam Webster
Dan Butler (Wynter 79): N/A - Not the attacking change people were hoping for late on.
Joe Devera
Ben Close
Patrick Agyemang (Holmes 74): N/A - No impact.
Miles Storey (Shorey 60): 5 - Blasted one good chance over the bar.