Michael Doyle has warned Pompey’s winning start to the season will become more difficult as teams set to nullify the Blues’. Speaking to Neil Allen, he said:

“When I came here with the players we have, I expected us to be challenging for the league and nothing is going to change that, especially working with the lads. The only people that will stop us winning the league are ourselves. I really, genuinely, believe that. We have had a couple of good performances.

Plymouth are going to be at the top end of the table and I felt Saturday was all us, I didn’t feel under any great pressure. But there are going to be games that are totally different, maybe tonight at Crawley.

What you find is probably – because of the results we have had – teams will set up to be a bit harder to beat by playing an extra man in midfield in front of the back four. They will attempt not to try to lose the game.

For instance, in the first game Dagenham set up with two up front and changed it at half-time, while Plymouth played a similar formation to us.

I don’t know what Crawley are going to do, they might play an extra man in front of the back four and try to play on the counter-attack. These are all the things you have got to be ready for.

If we keep going the way we are then matches are going to get harder to win, especially when we get to Fratton Park.

We are only two weeks in and I think people probably need to take a step back. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. As good as things have gone, there has to be a bit of realism.

We know what we want to do and are on course to go and do that, but people might be getting a bit too far ahead of themselves thinking we are going to win the league at a canter. Even if you win the league there are going to be low points.”

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