McGeehan wants Hatters to make a statement at Pompey

Luton go into the game one place and one point behind their south coast rivals, although they would leapfrog Pompey into fourth place with a victory.

It’s exactly what McGeehan is aiming for too after seeing Portsmouth win 3-1 at Luton last month, as he said: “They’re a massive club. Fan wise, they get more fans than we do, partly because of the stadium as they were in the Prem, but the lads are all excited about it.

“It’s one you look out for and see Fratton Park away. It’s a massive game, everyone’s looking forward to it and if we can get a win there it’s a statement of intent.

“It should be a good game, we’re taking a load of fans as we always do and looking forward to the occasion.

“We’re just a point behind them, so if we can go there get the win and go above them, that’s what we need to do.

“We need to make sure we put a good display on and take something from the game because we possibly owe them as they sort of turned us over here a month ago.”

Like Luton, Portsmouth have struggled at times in front of their own fans this season, with five wins from their 10 home matches and have gone two games withouth a win on home soil prior to today’s game.

With a crowd of around 18,000 expected, McGeehan wants to put the hosts under the kind of pressure that he and his team-mates feel at Kenilworth Road, as he continued: “They’re similar to us, they get big crowds and then sometimes struggle at home because it’s harder as it’s everyone’s cup final, playing against Luton and playing against Portsmouth.

“The pressure’s on them this time, the pressure’s not on us. We go there and the onus is on them a bit more to come at us.

“Away from home has probably looked after itself and there’s probably a little bit less pressure as I think the lads do feel pressure when they play here (Kenilworth Road).

“It’s a big stadium, a big club, so we do feel pressure. Away from home potentially a bit less and think that the counter-attacking style we play at times helps us as well.”

Town will have had just one day’s rest for the fixture, with Pompey enjoying an extra 24 hours as they drew 0-0 at Yeovil Town on Friday night.

However, McGeehan is hopeful once the adrenalin kicks in, his side will be fine, adding: “It’s a quick turnaround, we’ve just got a day to recover and then get into it, so we need to make sure we do everything right until then.

“It’s tough, but we’ve got a top sports scientist in Jared (Roberts-Smith).

“We’ll let him work his magic and then the physios, Simon (Parsell) and Daz (Cook) will be busy doing massages and getting everyone right.

“We’ll have a good sleep, do our recovery at the training ground, ice bath there, massages, go and have a jog, try to get the legs back.

“Then we’ll get to the hotel up there, go in the pool and hopefully be fine for Monday.

“I think the adrenaline will carry us through though, it’s that type of game.

“It’s maybe harder if you’re going to a smaller stadium to get yourself going if your legs are going, but it’s such a big stadium, it won’t be a problem.”