Portsmouth assistant Jon Harley is not focused on promotion despite a 3-1 victory at Wycombe moving the Sky Bet League One leaders closer to the Championship.
Pompey moved 11 points clear of third-placed Bolton following a stylish performance at Adams Park, in which top scorer Colby Bishop scored twice to make it 18 goals for the season.
Eight points from their remaining six games are required for Pompey to seal their return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, with a top-of-the-table clash with Derby to come on Tuesday night.
Harley, in charge on the touchline due to John Mousinho’s ban, said: “I don’t think that (promotion) is something we really want to talk about too much.
“As boring as it sounds, we’ve got a massive game against Derby coming up, so we just focus on that.
“I think if we focus on one game at a time, then the rest will take care of itself.
“Obviously, there is that going on in the back of our minds, we just want to get there as soon as we can and Derby becomes our next focus.
“The gaffer came down at half-time and had a few words and the key message, really, was let’s show some more energy.
“We knew it was going to be a fight in the second half and everyone stood up to it.
“The energy really rose and I think the game got wrapped up and in the last 20 minutes we felt really comfortable.”
Portsmouth led after three minutes when Bishop’s shot went in via a big deflection off Ryan Tafazolli, but Wycombe quickly levelled through Matt Butcher’s assured finish.
Bishop then doubled his tally after 28 minutes by steering in Abu Kamara’s low cross before Christian Saydee made sure of victory midway through the second half.
Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield said: “I felt we weren’t at our best, but we’ve gone pretty close.
“We had a couple of chances when we were 2-1 down – we hit the bar and had another couple of moments and if one of those goes in at 2-2, I really fancy us at home to have a good last half an hour.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and we had a bit of a sucker punch to go 3-1 down, which took the wind out of our sails a little bit.
“Portsmouth are at the top of the league for a reason.
“They’ve got some good players in forward areas who can hurt you at any moment and in Colby Bishop I think you’ll do well to find a better nine in the league.
“They’ve got some real good players and they’re a benchmark of where we want to get to.”
'Cristiano is perfect' - Martinez plays down early Ronaldo substitution
Roberto Martinez took Cristiano Ronaldo off just after the hour mark against Poland but assured he was only managing the 39-year-old's minutes.
Ronaldo was on target for Portugal in their 3-1 win over Poland, doubling their tally after Bernardo Silva's opener.
Piotr Zielinski provided the Selecao with a late scare, but Jan Bednarek's own goal ensured Portugal kept their 100% record, and they are the only team to win all three games so far in League A.
The Portugal captain was replaced by Diogo Jota, who had a hand in their third goal, in the 63rd minute, having had three shots and accumulating 1.43 expected goals (xG).
And Martinez insisted Ronaldo would have a part to play against Scotland as he praised the team's resilience to get the win over the line.
"It's part of managing players when you have two games in 72 hours. Diogo Jota came on very well. Cristiano is perfect," Martinez said.
"The first half was very good. We controlled the game, created opportunities, had very good synchronisation as a team, defended Poland's strengths very well and scored great goals.
"I'm happy with the new players who came in, it seems they have several international caps.
"Conceding a goal was a difficult moment, and it was great to see the reaction and score another goal. Overall, a very good performance.
"The challenge is two away games. 72 hours, recovering well. The players showed all their commitment during training and work at the Football City."
Martinez was also impressed by debutant Renato Veiga, who started alongside Ruben Dias at centre-back.
The Chelsea defender made seven clearances, the most of any player on the team, and helped limit Robert Lewandowski to just two shots, neither of which were on target.
"He has a very special profile. In his first training session, he showed that he gained maturity during the September training camp," Martinez added.
"He is an aggressive player, with great communication skills, who can defend large spaces, play in the air, against a Poland side that is very strong in set pieces.
"It was a fantastic debut. With a striker like Lewandowski, I think it is a debut that shows Renato's potential and how he is working at the moment."
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
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