Jack Ross believes his players have what it takes to thrive in the atmosphere waiting for them at Fratton Park.
Sunderland head to the south coast with a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg of their Play-Off semi-final on Thursday.
Chris Maguire’s second-half volley is the only thing that separates the two sides at the midway point, resulting in Portsmouth needing to score twice without reply from the Black Cats in order to book their place in the Wembley final.
And bearing in mind the second leg is in Pompey’s back yard, Ross is expecting nothing less than a cauldron of hostile noise to greet him and his players tomorrow evening.
“The players are in a good place right now,” he said.
“I knew that the other night going into the first leg, they were looking forward to it and they showed that on the night.
“They definitely had a little bit about them in terms of wanting to end the season properly and get what we deserve from it.
“They are excited to go again on Thursday evening.
“It is a terrific place to go and play and we had that earlier in the season when we went there in December.
“Portsmouth were top that day and the atmosphere was brilliant,” he continued.
“We know what it is going to be like, but we’ve got a lot of players who enjoy that environment and will thrive in it.”
