Orient win one of Cook's biggest for Pompey

The Blues returned to winning ways with a 1-0 success at Brisbane Road on Saturday.

Christian Burgess got the decisive goal in the second half to get Cook’s side back to winning ways after two league defeats.

It also saw Pompey pick up just their second win on the road this term in all competitions.

Victory lifted them to fourth in a League Two table, as it begins to take shape 12 games in.

Defeat would have seen them fall 11 points behind leaders Plymouth, who continue to set an impressive pace.

Cook felt it was crucial for both him and his side that wasn’t the case, even at a relatively early stage of the campaign.

He said: ‘This was a big game for me as manager of Portsmouth Football Club.

‘I showed my trust in my players and, to a man, they gave me everything.

‘But if we want to keep pace with sides we had to get a result.

‘We feel we are a good team in this league, but we need to be staying around that top five or higher.