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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says there is no point downplaying the importance of his side’s trip to Wanderers on Saturday.
Victory for Pompey would ensure their return to the Championship after a 12-year absence, and should Derby County stumble against Wycombe on Wednesday, night it may also be enough to clinch the League One title.
Mousinho’s men held their nerve at the weekend to beat Shrewsbury 3-1, a result understandably celebrated with gusto by just over 20,000 supporters at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth would still ensure automatic promotion by taking four points from their last three games, in the event they didn’t win at Bolton. But the prospect of getting the job done early is a motivation for the South Coast men, who have led the way for all but nine weeks of the season so far.
Speaking about his team’s trip to the Toughsheet, Mousinho told The News: “There are probably two things, making sure in some way we treat it as just another game but also don’t ignore the fact that if we win, we will be up.
“So, it’s getting the right balance between the two, but there’s no point in downplaying it ridiculously.
“The times I’ve been involved in play-off finals I’ve always thought it better to acknowledge the gravity of the game. This is slightly different, because we’ve obviously got three games after Bolton but if we can get the job done next week it would be fantastic.
‘It’s going to be an interesting week, but one where we make sure we do continue as we have been for the past 35 weeks.”
Wanderers have their own agenda as they attempt to chase down Derby over the final four games.
Ian Evatt’s side have three of their final four outings on home soil and have allocated Pompey 2,600 tickets, which spans half the top and lower tier of the South Stand.
Seats in the lower half of the South Stand are now on sale to Bolton fans, with the club looking to create the same sort of partisan atmosphere they did on Good Friday against Reading.
With one toe already in the Championship, Pompey will be looking to reward their own travelling support with a moment to savour. Mousinho believes his side will resist the temptation to think the hard work has already been done when they travel to Lancashire.
Speaking after the Shrewsbury win, he added: “I got the feeling from the post-match celebrations the lads are in a really good spot. They’re not getting too carried but making sure we do celebrate with the fans.
“Then speaking to the boys (after the game) I just get a good feeling they’re in a really good place.
“It’s not something I’ve had to worry about a huge amount this season, making sure we don’t get too carried away when we win games and when we lose or draw making sure we’re not too down in the dumps. It happens in football.
“We’ll be as normal this week because we have to prepare for the Bolton game, obviously against a fantastic side who have a huge amount to play for as well. Maybe when things settle down we’ll have to see what the emotions are, but, at the minute, I think the lads are in a really good place.”
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