Joey Barton wants Bristol Rovers to be "incredibly brave" and take control of the ball at Portsmouth on Saturday after erring from their strengths in defeat at Barnsley in midweek.
The Rovers boss believes overcoming the atmosphere and surviving the opening moments – things his team failed to do at Oakwell – will be essential for them to get a positive result at Fratton Park. Pompey have had crowds in excess of 17,000 for both of their games so far and Barton has tasted the atmosphere there as a player and as a manager.
Barton called on his players to learn lessons from Tuesday's 3-0 reverse in South Yorkshire, where they were two goals down inside a quarter of an hour and never mounted a meaningful reply.
