Danny Cowley makes bold claim about Portsmouth supporters | OneFootball

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has claimed that no supporters in the world can influence a game like the Fratton Park faithful.

Pompey are the only unbeaten side left in League One and sit third in the table – one point back from league leaders Plymouth Argyle but with a game in hand over most of the sides in the division.

Their game against Bolton Wanderers was postponed on Saturday due to international fixtures and their next opportunity to close the gap on Argyle will come this weekend as they travel to Portman Road to face promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town.

A win in that game will have Pompey supporters really starting to believe that this can be the season they finally get back to the Championship.

Speaking on Fournilwrittenalloverit, Cowley has backed the fans to play a vital part in helping the South Coast club get back to the second tier this season.

He said: “It’s such a unique club but it’s such a wonderful club – and there’s so many people it means so much to.

“I was having a conversation with Owen Dale, Tom Lowery and Colby Bishop. They’re all players who have maybe come from smaller clubs and (they were saying) how privileged they feel to be here and to play in front of a crowd that is so passionate really and has such a feeling.

“For me, I know for us to achieve what we want to achieve, then it’s never going to be about 11 players, it’s always going to be about a whole club, a whole city effort, it needs everybody.

“There’s no crowd, I don’t believe, a support in the country, in the world, who can influence a game like Portsmouth supporters and we know that we really need them.”

“What do they say? Every successful team needs a really good No1, everyone needs a 20-goal-a-season No9, but you need a support that can influence and turn those tight games in your favour and as people say, the Fratton End sucks the ball into the goal – it definitely helps every now and again.”

It’s now been more than a decade since Portsmouth were relegated from the Championship – a period in which they’ve dropped down to League Two and won relegation back to the third tier.

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The Verdict

This is a bold claim from Cowley but it’s one that the Fratton Park faithful are going to absolutely love.

The Pompey boss is right about how important home support could be to their promotion hopes this season.

With a number of clubs at the top of the League One table looking very strong, it looks set to be a competitive race for promotion this term and one that could be decided by narrow margins.

With that in mind, the influence of supporters could play a vital role in how things play out.