Championship
| Coventry City 2 |
|
|---|---|
| Portsmouth 0 |
Steve Cotterill was in breezy form after his first competitive outing as Portsmouth manager, considering the manner of this defeat and the basket case of a club of which he is in charge. But there was an acceptance that with only 10 senior players to call on he will struggle for a solution should there be any injuries.
This disastrous scenario could occur as soon as tonight when Portsmouth travel to Stevenage Borough for a Carling Cup first-round tie. Cotterill will have no choice but to field the XI which started against Coventry, of which Matt Ritchie, a 19-year-old on loan to Swindon last season, is one of the five junior players who completes the manager's skeletal 14-man squad.
Asked what he would do if any of his men were to go down, Cotterill smiled and said: "I don't know the answer to that, absolutely I don't. I don't have any other choice other than those young players at this moment."
The former Notts County manager is conscious that he may be forced to send out a team completed by novices, which would leave him with a near-empty bench. "We did that in pre-season," Cotterill said. "This is the best we've been off for players – you haven't seen where we've been in pre-season. So we've done OK."
Nadir Ciftci and Peter Gregory, who came on as second-half replacements, plus Marlon Pack and Liam O'Brien, the reserve goalkeeper, are all Cotterill can call on. With Portsmouth still under a player-registration embargo due to being in administration his only hope is to make loan deals.
Ibrahima Sonko, who made his debut against City and is the only recognised defender at the club, is one of the five loan players allowed but Cotterill is hopeful two more may arrive soon. "I've got my eyes on a couple who are both full-backs and I'd be delighted [if I could get them] going into this week‚" he said.
Cotterill professed himself content with the performance but not the result against a City team managed by Aidy Boothroyd. While Portsmouth were on top for the remainder of the first half following the first of Freddy Eastwood's two goals, after the break Cotterill's side struggled.
Jamie Ashdown's inability to hold a regulation shot in the fourth minute was to blame for the first goal and there was no surprise when Eastwood added a second with a header on 70 minutes.
How many more players does Cotterill believe Andrew Andronikou, the administrator, will sell? "We can't lose them all, we just can't lose them all," he said, before his tone brightened. "I don't think everybody has to be sold – that might be drummed up a little bit. I think only two more players will leave – [Kevin-Prince] Boateng and [John] Utaka."
Cotterill accepts that the paucity of his squad means Portsmouth may be viewed as favourites to fall straight through the division into League One. "If I can pull this one off it'll stand me in good stead in the football world. I've got make sure it works now and I will make sure it work."
Next up are the Football League debutants Stevenage, whom Cotterill knows will be awkward opposition. "They've just got promoted and teams that have done so are normally on a high. So it'll be an awkward game for us."
Man of the match Freddy Eastwood (Coventry City)