Lincoln City boss Michael Skubala has made an honest statement about how he expects Portsmouth to play against them tomorrow.
The Imps know that a win will see them into the top six and cap a quite remarkable second half of the season.
A hot run of form not long after the former Leeds man took charge has seen City fly up the league standings and firmly into the play-off picture.
As for the Blues, the trip to Sincil Bank is an opportunity to cap what has been a wonderful title-winning campaign.
Michael Skubala predicts strong Portsmouth performance
Speaking ahead of the fixture, Skubala has claimed he doesn’t expect John Mousinho’s side to back down.
“We know it’ll be tough against a great team who are worthy champions in my eyes, but if you look at our form and their form in the last 15 games, it’s similar,” he said.
“I think we’ve got the toughest game out of the play-off contenders, and we go into it expecting the other teams around us to win – so we have to win. We know we’re in the position where if we win, we go through, which is a nice situation to be in.
“We’ll know exactly what’s going on elsewhere and will know the permutations, but, ultimately, it’s down to winning this game against a very good Portsmouth team.”
Skubala added: “They’re a very professional outfit, and I know their head coach, John Mousinho, really well. They won’t lay down for anyone, and we know how tough it’ll be, but if we play like we can for 90 minutes, we’ll have every chance.”
The play-off permutations explained ahead of Lincoln City v Portsmouth
For the travelling Pompey fans, there’s definitely some interest in Saturday’s fixture. A victory would see Lincoln’s promotion ambitions likely fall by the wayside, with Blackpool or Oxford United taking the final top-six berth.
The added narrative is that Mousinho could help out his old club if his side picks up all three points.
Unless Oxford United produce a win and make up six goals in the process, three points will get the job done for Skubala’s side.
However, failure to pick up three points will see attention turn to Blackpool (away to Reading, Oxford United (away to Exeter) and Barnsley (at home to Northampton Town).