Boss: Fast start is essential for Blues

The Blues have been sluggish starters in recent seasons and have often been left playing catch-up on their rivals.

But manager Guy Whittingham is determined to get his side firing on all cylinders as quickly as possible – even though it is a new team who will take a certain period of time to bed in.

The Pompey boss said: ‘To be successful in any league, I think you need to get off to a good start to have more chance of keeping that momentum going.

‘In those first half-a-dozen games, we need an element of success.

‘I won’t say we need 10, 12 or 16 points after six games, but we certainly want to hit the ground running as much as we can.

‘If any team is to be successful, you have to make your home ground a difficult place to come for opposition and our fans will have a big part to play in that.

‘So we’ve got to make sure it’s intimidating for them when they get out on the pitch and we go out there with a positive attitude.’

More than 18,000 tickets have already been sold for the Oxford match and the club are hopeful more tickets will be made available later this week.

Supporters buying a season ticket this week will be allocated a seat in the family section and can move to another part of the ground for the rest of the season after the Oxford clash.

Whittingham said: ‘The players are all excited to play in front of this great crowd we’ve got down here.

‘The lads who were here last season have told them what it was like for that game against Sheffield United after the Trust takeover.

‘It was an unbelievable atmosphere that day.

‘They are all looking forward to it.’