Appleton targets final-day escape

Michael Appleton hopes Portsmouth's scrap for survival can be taken to the final day of the Championship season.

Ultimately it is out of Pompey's hands, with fourth-bottom Bristol City five points clear with two games remaining.
But victory for Appleton's side at home to Derby on Saturday combined with anything other than a Robins win against Barnsley at Ashton Gate would see the relegation battle go to a nailbiting finale next weekend.
"I would love it to go to the last game of the season because I think that would be a massive achievement for everyone associated with the football club - the players and staff," Appleton said.
"When it gets to that situation, if it gets to that situation, anything can happen. We've seen dramas up and down the country in the last 10 or 20 years. You just never know."
February's 10-point deduction for entering administration saw Portsmouth drop in the bottom three for the first time this season, with the subsequent departure of star names Erik Huseklepp, Liam Lawrence and Hayden Mullins easing their wage bill but resulting in damaging effects on the pitch.