Chalkias to be left out

By Adam Marshall  

Chalkias to be left out

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Portsmouth are to rest keeper Kostas Chalkias for their weekend clash with in-form Newcastle United.

The Greek import has been criticised in some quarters for his performances since arriving at Fratton Park and manager Velimir Zajec has decided to take him out of the firing line.

With Pompey slipping dangerously close to the relegation picture, Zajec is determined to shake things up.

"Either Jamie [Ashdown] or Shaka [Hislop] will get their chance in this match," the Pompey chief told The News.

"Jamie is probably closer because Shaka was unable to train for two or three weeks."

Coach Joe Jordan, meanwhile, has stressed that points are now more important than performances.

"At this stage of the season, going into the last quarter, each game has a significant part to play in what the final outcome of the season will be," Jordan told Sky Sports News.

"There's no getting away from it, it's this part of the season when things will get decided and we've got to collect points.

"I think it's confident [in the dressing room] to the degree we still look at the games ahead and think we can get points from them.

"It's not a case of looking at performances and getting confidence from that, we've arrived at an area where we need to get not only the performance, but points and a tally away from 30 points."