New loan signings Marcus Bean and Matt Fish are set to be in the squad as Pompey look to bounce back from a wretched week on the road at home to Morecambe.

Midfielder Bean and defender Fish have both been short of regular football this season so may not come straight into the starting XI - although boss Andy Awford was very keen to make changes to that line-up after the pitiful second-half effort at Aldershot on Wednesday night.

Bean, from Colchester, and Fish, who plays for Gillingham, will certainly put some squad members on their toes and Awford's selection for the visit of the Lancashire side - who are three points better off than Pompey in the League Two table - will be very interesting.

The Pompey boss knows he and the players are under pressure to deliver a home win.

He told the club website: 'It’s been a tough 48 hours. We’ve all had a big kick up the backside and now we need a reaction. We’re ready to go again and we know that we need to get three points on Saturday.

'Everyone’s in this together and the response from everybody — from the chairman and chief executive to coaching staff and players — has been fantastic. I know the supporters will rally around us as well. We’re going through a tough time at the moment, but there’s still a unity here.

'I’m not necessarily after silky, sexy soccer on Saturday, but we need a hard-working performance full of grit and determination. But we need the fans to put in a performance as well. We want to make the stadium a cauldron, so it’s impossible for Morecambe.'

Joe Devera is a doubt but Adam Webster and Danny East are back in training.

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