Cowley’s comeback stats far superior to his predecessor
THE last remnants of Kenny Jackett’s Pompey reign have been erased following the Blues’ victory over Wigan.
It’s been 411 days since the 60-year-old last took charge of the Blues in the disappointing Papa John’s Trophy final defeat to Salford.
There were plenty of criticisms from fans over Jackett in his time at Fratton, from play-off failure to the brand of football on display.
But a glaring deficiency of his tenure was his side’s struggles to overturn deficits when finding themselves behind in games.
Across his final two years in the Fratton Park dugout, the club had won just one game from a losing position – a 2019 success over Coventry.
In total, Jackett saw his side losing in 74 matches – with only 35 points gained on those occasions.
Since Danny Cowley was announced as the man to succeed the former Millwall chief, he’s tried to rectify the club’s weakness when facing adversity.
And as his side produced a stellar comeback against the promotion-chasing Latics, it’s arguably mission accomplished for the 43-year-old.
The visitors fired into a 2-0 lead just ahead of the interval, before a second-half double from George Hirst and Aiden O’Brien’s strike secured three points.
This represented Pompey’s fourth win when behind this term, while it took their total from losing scenarios to 16 points.
Overall, it elevated the ex-Lincoln boss’ total to 23 across his tenure – only 12 less than Jackett’s tally in 49 fewer matches.
Cowley got off to the perfect start when it came to his side dealing with adversity – overturning a deficit to beat Ipswich in his first game in charge.
The victory over Paul Cook’s side was the first in overcoming a deficit since the Sky Blues fight back.
In the remaining 11 matches of the 2020-21 campaign, a further four points arrived when behind – including a victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Across this season, that's been repeated against Wigan,
AFC Wimbledon, Shrewsbury and Oxford when the opposition have struck first - firmly reflecting mentality shift brought in by Cowley.