‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

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‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

Martí Cifuentes is keen to continue ‘developing an identity’ on and off the pitch ahead of tackling Portsmouth this weekend.

2025-10-18T08:00+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

18 Oct, 2025

‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

Martí Cifuentes is keen to continue ‘developing an identity’ on and off the pitch ahead of tackling Portsmouth this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-10-18T08:00+01:00

‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

Martí Cifuentes is keen to continue ‘developing an identity’ on and off the pitch ahead of tackling Portsmouth this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-10-18T08:00+01:00

‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

Martí Cifuentes is keen to continue ‘developing an identity’ on and off the pitch ahead of tackling Portsmouth this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-10-18T08:00+01:00

‘Be At Our Best’ – Cifuentes On Portsmouth Challenge

Martí Cifuentes is keen to continue ‘developing an identity’ on and off the pitch ahead of tackling Portsmouth this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-10-18T08:00+01:00

We return to action following the international break by welcoming Pompey to King Power Stadium for a 7:45pm BST kick-off on Saturday evening, hoping to back up a 3-1 victory at Swansea City last time out.

Ahead of a busy period of action, Cifuentes had his say on the competitiveness of the Sky Bet Championship, preparing for a three-game week and the improvements he has identified within the squad.

‘Every game's important’

All smiles after winning at Swansea two weeks ago.

Speaking to the assembled media on Friday afternoon, just over 24 hours prior to kick-off on Filbert Way, the Spaniard looked ahead to the next block of fixtures, with away trips to Hull City and Millwall on the horizon, though full concentration remains on how to overcome this weekend’s South Coast opposition.

“It’s been a good one (week) because the level of application and the focus of how we used the days has been good,” the 43-year-old told reporters in Seagrave. “I’m happy with the way the players approached this period and hopefully we can see the results of it in a week that will obviously be demanding because we are going to play three games in just a few days.

“Then there is not much time to spend on the pitch this week, but trying to improve some of the areas that we know we need to improve and I think the response from the guys has been very good.

“It’s important that we take it step by step. I know how this week will look and that’s why everyone has to stay connected, switched on and all the players are ready to contribute. We’ll use the length of our squad but at the same time, I’m not thinking about what’s next, just having a good performance and beating Portsmouth.

“I personally like the evening games so hopefully we will have a good attendance and we can deliver a good performance for our fans. Every game in the Championship is very important. I’m very aware that the next six games before the next international break is the last before a very demanding period in December and January.”

‘We want more dominance’

Overseeing training in Seagrave.

As developments within the group start to take hold, the last week proved to be a good interval to review and take stock of where the team is at, nine matches into the season, with City sitting third in the table prior to the weekend’s fixtures.

Cifuentes commented: “We always try to assess the last games and how we are, especially a block of five games after an international break. Our build-up has been much better but we want to be even better than we are at the moment.

“We’re getting better on the counter-press, but still, we want to press higher and create more chances to have more clarity in the final third. We want to make sure we have more dominance through the games.

“It’s different areas but then we try to take the more tactical part of it and work on it on the pitch. Hopefully these last two weeks have been helpful to improve these areas. It’s my job to develop the team and I would like to think that there is always an improvement.

“The reality is that it’s football and there’s ups and downs but when I look back to three months ago to where we are now, there is definitely an improvement, at least on the things that we want to see.

We're back on Filbert Way this weekend.

“There is more cohesion, more clarity on ideas, we're starting to merge some relationships in-between the players on the pitch and that’s part of the process. Of course, we want to make this process as quick as possible, because it’s about competing.

“But we’re aware it’s probably going to be the case, sitting here in six or seven months, that I will tell you there are still things to improve. That’s the way you survive in high competition and high performance.

“We always try to analyse where we are from week to week, game to game and training to training. Definitely I think there are areas we have been improving. The most important part for me is that I see a team who are working really hard on the training pitch and in the games, they are all for the badge, for the Club.

“We want to do better in everything we do. We know we are getting a decent amount of points, but at the same time, I’m aware that we should have done better in some of the games and that we need to improve in areas that are important in our game.

“The reality is that it is a tough league. I have been saying since I arrived here that it would take some time. We want to be at our best and that means to win every game. We are not at the top of the table, that’s our aim.

“We need to keep improving while we develop an identity that will help us to sustain this over the next seasons. It’s not just about immediate success, which is always so important, but at the same time, building something on and off the pitch that helps us to be as competitive as we can.”

‘A dangerous team’

It’s been a solid start to Pompey’s second season in the Championship under John Mousinho.

Already proving themselves against sides positioned towards the upper echelons of the division, having ended Middlesbrough’s unbeaten record last time out, Cifuentes believes his team must mitigate the threats posed by John Mousinho’s side, while also playing their own game.

“It’s a team that I know well,” City’s Manager analysed. “Last season, I think they did really well after promotion and it’s always difficult to play against them because they are a physical side who are good on set-plays.

“The way they defend is a big part of why they are so competitive. They are good on high pressing and very aggressive. They’ve got quick transitions because they invest a lot of players in the high press and charge the box well.

“They have got good players in one-v-one as well. It’s a dangerous team and we need to be at our top [level], especially because the way we play is a good chance for them to try to use the high press to disrupt and break our build-up.

“I think, in the game, it will be very important for us the way that we manage this situation. The approach is always the same: to be loyal to our identity while understanding that each game demands different things.

“It’s about huge respect to the opposition because they definitely have their strengths and then trying to focus on our strengths and how we can really punish them more than just being worried about what they are good at, but especially how we can exploit the weaknesses.”

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