Pompey boss has no desire to look at play-offs

And the Blues boss aired his ire over the way the ever-changing hunt to go up in League Two is being perceived.

Last weekend’s victory over promotion rivals Bristol Rovers lifted spirits for the Blues.

That saw Pompey up to fifth in the table – seven points off Oxford in the third automatic promotion berth.

Midweek action ensured they dropped a place, however.

Northampton extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points over Plymouth Argyle with victory over the U’s.

That means the Cobblers are now 19 points clear of Cook’s side, as they picked up their eighth league win on the bounce – and 13th in 14 league fixtures.

Accrington Stanley then moved above Cook’s men with a point against Carlisle on Tuesday night.

Cook is not interested in the twists and turns taking place around his side in the table, however.

He underlined his overall objective is to get Pompey out of the division by end of the campaign – and there are still 17 games to achieve that.

Cook said: ‘It must have changed when we left the ground against Morecambe.

‘If we get beaten again it will change again, we might be relegated.

‘If we win an amount of games we will be promoted automatically.

‘If we win an amount of games we will be in the play-offs.

‘We are all trying to fast-forward to the end of something that we can’t fast-forward to.

‘Our target is promotion, which it was at the start of the season.

‘Until it is not possible, it will remain the target.’