‘If we keep carving out chances, we will score’

DANNY COWLEY believes the goals will soon arrive for Pompey.

And the Blues’ boss pointed to the numbers as evidence his team will soon find the right attacking formula to fuel their League One play-off bid.

Pompey drew a blank at Crewe on Tuesday to make it two goals in their past three games, ahead of today’s trip to MK Dons.

Cowley knows there’s work to do and his side have to be more effective going forward, but reckons the goals will come if the chances continue to be created.

He said: ‘We only worry about our forward players if we’re not getting chances.

‘I get that we didn’t score on Tuesday and I get people will be saying “uhh, our attacking play needs to improve”.

‘But I’m really cautious about that. I look at chance creation, I believe in my forwards and know if we create chances we will score goals.

‘For us, we always try to dig a bit deeper really and look at it analytically.

‘I think when we do that we get a much clearer picture, and that informs the work we do in preparation for the next game.’

The focus was on John Marquis, who was culpable for missed chances, including a penalty, on Tuesday.

Cowley added: ‘John’s a number nine and lived that role for many years.

‘He’s done it at Millwall and Portsmouth and you need some minerals to do that.

‘It’s the life of the number nine and it’s really good to have him back.

‘He is an honest, hardworking player who is selfless in his attitude and really wants to help the team.

‘You don’t normally get many number nines who are team-oriented, they tend to be selfish and single-minded.

‘John wants to help the team, he’s a bright boy with a high football IQ.’