Blake tells Pompey: You have more than enough to get in the play-offs

And he said the Blues had one of the strongest squads in League One. Blake – who was a coach at Fratton Park under Paul Cook and then for the first year of Kenny Jackett’s reign – said a change in the Blues’ style of football was needed to breathe new life into the club and their bid to reach the Championship.

Jackett was sacked after Pompey lost the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final to Salford and ex-Lincoln and Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley was appointed head coach last Friday.

An advocate of high-octane, attacking football, Blake said it was right that Pompey should change their style under new management, suggesting that a shift in philosophy would breathe life back into Fratton Park.

He told us: “The club needs a new injection of life.

“The manager needs to come in, play on the front foot, play attacking football and press high up the pitch.

“I think the relationship between the supporters and the players has gone missing in the past couple of months, and the first step needs to be making Fratton Park happy again.

“Personally, I would like to see them play high-tempo football, press high from the front and that should get the feel-good factor back.”

Cowley kicked off with a comeback win against Ipswich at the weekend, moving Pompey back up to seventh position in League One.

Although there’s still plenty for Cowley to do to secure a play-off spot, Blake believes the manager should have the personnel available to finish the campaign strongly.

“With the group of players they’ve got, there’s more than enough there to get them back in the play-offs at the end of the season.

“I think they’ve got one of the best squads in the league,’ he admitted.