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try to play through midfield. But when sides have pressed us and pressed us well, we will try to play when the opportunity is there, but sometimes you have to bypass the press.
That’s particularly the case when you have physical centre-forwards like Colby Bishop, Kusini Yengi and Christian Saydee. Sometimes the best way to play is to go a bit more direct, land on second balls and go from there.
We try to attack in a number of different ways and have tried to evolve a bit through the season as well. I’ve been really pleased with our ability to do that.
The importance of set-pieces has just been absolutely massive throughout the year - and Barnsley exemplified that.
The fact that Conor Shaughnessy has popped up three times at home - Carlisle, Wycombe and Barnsley - with late winners in front of the Fratton End is testament to the work we put in with (coach) Joe Prodomo, and the fact the lads actually listen to him and attack the ball!
From my point of view, different head coaches do it different ways. We want to be practical with the way we play football - and we try to win games of football. There are plenty of ways to go about doing that.
We want to keep the identity, in terms of the way we want to play as a team, but we also want to be practical and just try to win games. Hopefully you’ve seen that this season.
But what has been absolutely crucial is, when you’re at a club like Portsmouth in this league, you have to try to use the advantage of the fanbase. Having played here as an opponent, and I remember saying this on day one, it’s not a nice place to come when
Fratton is bouncing.
A couple of times in particular this season stand out, but obviously the Barnsley game in the last 15 minutes was just a joke.
It was so loud, even when we were 2-1 down the fans were still going. They were right on top of everything and it made it a difficult place to play for Barnsley. It does feel like you're sucking the ball into the back of the net.
This is a special place and I’ve spoken about Portsmouth being a unique island city. So, yes, we have tried to leverage that.
This is a massive football club and you’ve all played your roles in what we’ve achieved this season, so thank you.
‘Now we have to use those special qualities and keep building on what we have going into next season.’
You have to try to use the advantage of the fanbase