Portsmouth boss reveals impact of Fratton fury on players as campaign hits low in bleak MK Dons defeat

But the Pompey boss acknowledged the criticism aimed in the direction of him and his players was justified following the dreadful 2-0 defeat at Fratton Park.

The loss to the strugglers saw the Blues fall to their first reverse on home soil since January 31 on a dreadful afternoon.

Despite that strong run at PO4 it’s now just a single win in 11 in the league, with Pompey’s last League One success eight weeks ago - and their last on home soil 15 weeks back against Peterborough at the start of September.

Managerless MK Dons started Saturday with goal difference separating them from the foot of the table, but were 2-0 up after 64 minutes.

That was the cue for angry scenes and a string of chants aimed at Cowley and his players, before swathes of fans departed and boos rang out on the final whistle.

Cowey admitted those scenes hit home for players and staff - but wasn’t unjustified.

He said: ‘This is a big club with big expectation.

‘This is only our first loss here since January, but we’ve not picked up as many wins in the league as we would’ve liked in recent times.

‘It’s tough and we’re all disappointed, of course.

‘We work hard every day to make our supporters proud and they were angry with us today.

‘We have to accept it.

‘For us we always do the same. I don’t believe in kicking people when they are down.

‘The players were really down after and hurt by the reaction, we all were.

‘They were hurt by the performance and the loss.

‘We’ll analyse the game and take learning from it.

‘We have (come up short of proving the critics wrong). We have and that’s fair.

‘For us we know we have a passionate support base and really appreciate the ones who give us unconditional love, but we also accept the ones that give us criticism.

‘We understand that - and we have to respond.’

Cowley was clear it was weak defending which was the deciding factor in Pompey’s downfall as they shipped a goal to MK Dons’ first shot on goal, before shipping a dreadful second.

The 43-year-old remains convinced of the talent and character in his group to get the season motoring again in the league.

He added ‘We know why we lost the game, it’s really clear, but it doesn’t make you feel any better.

‘We genuinely believe we have a good group.

‘We’ve won games recently, but they’ve been in the cup.

‘We’ve not won enough games in the league and as a consequence we deserve the criticism.’