New sponsor, not getting carried away and Martin O'Neill

The club are apparently in talks with three companies over a five year club sponsorship deal worth £30mn and when if we beat Blackburn, it could be enough to seal the deal because it would show we are able to 'mount a consistent challenge for major honours and European football'.

I know, it sounds like PR spin but we are in desperate need of some funds for some players and £30mn would finally allows us to buy the £30mn player.

I'm writing about that because it is news, well sort of. It is mostly speculation as it is on Mirror Football, but it is getting listed. We play Blackburn in the League Cup in January - so if we make the final, maybe we will find out in January that we have a new sponsor.

Moving on and I have to write about why I am not getting carried away and tell you about last season and the season before. So many times over the past two seasons, after a couple of good results and good performances, I'd be excited and I'd think that we had changed the corner. But it turned out we hadn't. It turned out, when you look back, that it was just our time and a blip, a nice blip, but just a blip.

Now, it won't look like this now for many, because we've just had the performances, but Hull have only picked up two points away form home all season and Pompey were (still are) bottom of the league. Everyone knew we were going to win these games and we did; it's just that we were allowed more time and more space, because the teams we were playing were poor, low on confidence and lacking any real direction. It's games like the ones that are coming up where we will really see if we have turned the corner.

The thing is, I don't think we have or I'm not convinced, so I'm not going to get carried away from two performances, much like I did two or three times last season and two or three times the season before. I'll get carried away if we are fifth by the end of the season because that will mean we have kicked on.

I know it's fairly unmoving of me, but I just think its time that I actually got something first before the promises, before I put in my hopes and before I had my expectations raised. However, if we beat Blackburn over two legs, I will get carried away about the final and I'll believe we can win it, because our type of football is actually the type of football that gives you more chance of winning one off games and it will be easy for O'Neill to get his players up for the game. However, regarding our league position and the actual football, I'm not going to get too carried away just yet.

Call me a cold heartless bastard if you want, you'd be right, but I want to see the football get better and not only do I actually not see it getting better, the statistical indicators also say it isn't getting better, but it might and I hope it does. Things have changed and a lot on here have been calling, actually have called and given up calling for Milner to go into the middle.

I'm glad I got that written, because I can then reference it in future, as no doubt someone will comment that I should be excited and you know what, maybe I am, I'm just not letting it out, because if I let it out maybe I fear the feeling when we are let down. Maybe, actually, if I don't let the club set my expectations they can't let me down. I don't know why, but anyway, before I go today to do work, to Martin O'Neill.

Martin O'Neill
I am obviously delighted. The first half was really good. I thought we played really well. Our first goal should probably have been our third and we deserved the 2-0 lead at half time. The team were playing really great - there was great fluidity about us. The second half was really stop-start and it never really got going.

But overall, I am delighted - really pleased with the win. I am also pleased with the performance - particularly in the first half."The lads are delighted - really delighted. I think they have an early Christmas night out tomorrow.

I'm putting that in because I'm not doing the post mortem today, it will happen tomorrow and you can still cote for man of the match to the right and well, it is nice to that he recognises we had another good half and not such a good second half. Maybe next time out we will have a good second half too.