Arran Lee-Barrett echoed the thoughts of his Ipswich team-mates when he looked ahead to tonight’s trip to Portsmouth and said: “We’re going down there for the three points.”

The Town keeper’s positivity demonstrates the level of confidence in the Portman Road ranks after successive wins over the Championship’s top and bottom clubs, West Ham and Coventry, respectively.

Lee-Barrett added: “Our attitude is that we are going to Fratton Park looking for another win and I think that’s a good way to be.

“I hope the game goes ahead as planned. It would be very disappointing to get all the way down there and not play.

“We have prepared well. Despite the weather, the groundstaff at the training ground have done really well to keep us a pitch.

“There hasn’t been too much disruption to our preparations. We’ve been indoors one or two days but we’ve also had a good pitch to work on.”

Pompey, fresh from a battling performance that earned them a 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Blackpool on Saturday, are set to go back into administration for the second time in two years.

Lee-Barrett has some sympathy for their plight, adding: “Every time a club is going through a bad patch it’s hard for the whole club. We have every respect for Portsmouth and we know it is going to be a tough game.

“But we’re not short of confidence after a decent run and we’re all working hard together to continue pushing away from the bottom end of the table.”

Photo: Action Images

Photo: Action Images via Reuters