Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton wants his players to continue to show the right attitude as they face the difficult trip to play Birmingham in the npower Championship on Tuesday night.
Appleton praised his players for the way they have approached games during the current financial difficulties at Fratton Park.
With Saturday's game against Hull called off because of the weather the Pompey players are still buoyed by the 3-0 win over Peterborough, their most recent fixture.
Appleton told the club website: "We've got to concentrate on what we do on the field and not worry about what goes on off it.
"I sat down with the players and staff and said from our point of view that we have to stay together. We understand the situation the club is in at the moment.
"We've got a decent bunch of players here who are respectful of how hard things are at the minute and I'm sure they'll continue to show the right attitude and application that they've displayed over this period that has been difficult for us.
"Times are difficult for us but I don't want an excuse culture at the football club. I can't speak highly enough of the players because they've applied themselves to the absolute in every game."
Portsmouth take on Birmingham without Luke Varney (knee), David Norris (hernia) and Aaron Mokoena (hamstring).
Appleton added: "Birmingham are in a rich vein of form with six wins from seven, scoring 20 and conceding two, which is an incredible record.
"They go into the game full of confidence, but so do we after our good win away from home at Peterborough.
"Birmingham are strong and I fully expect them to be in the top six come the end of the season, but we need to keep climbing the table as steadily as we can.
"We were desperate to play at the weekend, but we remain in good spirits and I'm sure if we show the same sort of attitude and determination that we did at Peterborough, that will be enough for us to get something out of the game at Birmingham."
Birmingham manager Chris Hughton will be keen to see Serbian striker Nikola Zigic back in action.
Zigic injured his leg scoring the last of his four goals in the 4-1 win at Leeds last week and missed the 0-0 home draw with Southampton on Saturday.
Post Comment
