Under attack

HELP REQUIRED . . . Athletic striker Robbie Simpson is unlikely to be asked to plough a lone furrow up front again.

Latics to adopt siege mentality

THERE was never any question Paul Dickov would roll up to the club’s weekly press conference in his usual good spirits.

Athletic's manager is always courteous and professional, even when recovering from the shock of his team receiving a public mauling from the owner.

Privately, Dickov will be relishing the Portsmouth test tomorrow like no other game in his two-year tenure to date.

Nothing can be better at generating a siege mentality inside the changing room than an attack from within.

The anticipation of a positive reaction may have formed part of Corney's thinking when he laid into the side.

But Corney didn't say the players and manager areen't up to the task. Quite the opposite: he strongly believes Athletic have far greater potential than they have shown so far.

"My relationship with Simon is really good," said Dickov, asked for his response to Corney's broadside. "Both football-wise and as a friendship.

"I completely understand the frustrations he has.”

Athletic will need to overturn a poor run of form away from Boundary Park to defeat a Pompey outfit also searching for their first win of the season.

Athletic have won only one of the last nine away contests in League One, at Hartlepool in March.

In six of those games, they have failed to score.

Dickov said: "We want to go to Portsmouth with a positive attitude.

“We have to start well and not give them a sniff.”






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