Portsmouth were this week the subject of a bid to buy them, rejected out of hand by the board, as rumours of trouble behind the scenes at the South Coast club refuse to dissipate.
The club sacked Tony Adams as manager last month after an execrable run of form that had seen them tumble down the table, and caretaker-manager Paul Hart has faced a stern task in lifting team morale.
Experienced defender Sol Campbell though feels that Hart has done a good job, as spirit at the club is still strong, adding weight to team-mate David James' assertions earlier this week that Hart could do the job on a permanent basis.
Campbell feels that a 'winning mentality' has returned to the club, after an impressive victory over Manchester City and a hard-fought draw with Stoke City in their last two league outings, something that will give them a huge boost ahead of their home match-up with Chelsea on Tuesday night.
"That draw was massive for us because it showed people out there that we were ready for the fight. The way we fought back with an injury-time equaliser has given a real edge to all the players," the former Arsenal man told Pompey's official website.
"Those two results against Stoke and Manchester City have given us something to build on and I’m confident things will continue to improve quickly. We’re much more confident than we were a month ago: we’ve got that winning mentality back. We’re a very good team and we’ve turned a corner, but there’s no way we’re going to be complacent.
"We’ve had a couple of good results but we’re not going to get carried away – Paul Hart and Brian Kidd [assistant coach] have made us aware of that.
"We’re not out of the woods yet even though we’ve taken four points from the last two games. We’re in a relegation fight and we’ve got to scrap our way out of trouble."
And with 12 games left with which to secure their Premier League status, Campbell knows it is important that they pick up more points quickly.
"We need to win three or four games out of the next six or seven to put daylight between us and the sides at the bottom. If we do that then we can really push on in the last five or six games.
"And it’s a target that’s achievable because there’s a really positive mentality running through the team."
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