Top 4 is out of reach for most

Firstly Peter Storrie and then Harry Redknapp joined Kevin Keegan in saying that the 'big 4' will remain the big 4 for the foreseeable future...

Keegan said that he had 'no chance' of bridging the gap after seeing his side lose to Chelski on Monday, then yesterday Storrie said 'I think you have to be realistic in the game now. It is very, very difficult for any side to break into the top four for some years', while Redknapp said it would cost £150m to do so! Time to dig deep then :-)

Whilst I do completely agree that we do have to remain realistic in our ambition, ambition has to see you aim high. Maybe by sharing these thoughts at this moment in time is just Pompey's way of playing down the slump that we have seen recently, as although we might have played poorly a fair few times this season overall we should not really be 'as low' as we are, and should - in my thinking - be closer to the top 4 than we are.

Had we not tossed away many of the points that we had carelessly done so this season, missed the penalties that we did that cost us wins or taken our eye so badly off the league in favour of the cup as we have then I seriously feel we could have been close to, if not in the top 4 anyway! It sounds crazy, but think about it and it is true really?

Yep, the gap is big but it can be breached, for us and others, so if we start going into the season with a better attitude than 'the 24 points on offer from 'the big 4' are merely bonus points, so whatever we can pick up from them will be extras' and remember that the season runs from August to May, it does not stop around Christmas time or when you get to 40pts - whichever comes first - then why should we not be capable of breaking into the top 4?

So long as Rafa Benitez continues to rotate his side as much as does in the early months of the season Liverpool will be the club most likely to be picked off, no matter how many millions they spend... People will say 'their class shone through in the end', but just look how close we were to them for so long this season, add those points dropped that we should not have, and had we kept going until the end of the season we would be right up with them now!

We are an established top 10 side, we should now be looking to make the next step up and this is possible. I am not saying that I am expecting these things but nothing in impossible if you believe, self belief is worth so much - if you have a defeatist attitude you will be defeated.

PLAY UP POMPEY!