Pompey had a winning start to their home campaign a fortnight ago - and after defeat at Oxford, they could do with further success in front of their own fans when Walsall visit this weekend.

Boss Kenny Jackett feels both matches have been fairly even despite the outcomes and wants his players to take this one by the scruff of the neck.

Jackett told the Pompey website: 'Both of our league outings so far have been tight for the majority of the games and so we want to try, if we can, to get a bit more control. We’ve won one and lost one — and that’s probably about right. We have to keep working hard and keep improving wherever we can.

'It’s obviously a better standard in League One, but that’s what everyone wanted after four years in the bottom division. There are also a lot of hungry teams and we have to match that before we can start showing our quality.

'Walsall are young and full of energy, and for the past couple of games they’ve played three at the back. They have some youthful energy, particularly in midfield. We’ll have to counter that if we want a good result.'

Pompey say Milan Lalkovic could return from an ankle injury, although Matt Clarke and Nathan Thompson will not feature.

They have signed Dion Donahue from Chesterfield - he can play at left-back or in midfield - but he joined the Blues too late to feature against Walsall.

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