A difficult run of fixtures before year end is being ignored for the moment by Portsmouth boss Paul Hart. The south-coast club face all of last season's top four before the end of 2009, starting with a home clash against Manchester United next Saturday.

With Portsmouth bottom of the table and four points adrift of safety, Hart knows his team must pick up points against Stoke on Sunday.

He said: "I do know who we're playing up to Christmas, but I choose to talk about the game that's closer and try to deal with that.

"It's hard enough dealing with one game and that's without putting three or four more in your head.

"We're bottom of the table and I keep getting asked what must-win games are. They're all games we need to win."

He continued: "We've still got a long time to go and nobody is getting away from us. If we get two back-to-back results, it would make a big difference.

"I concede that the next games are difficult, but we'll get the Stoke one out of the way and then deal with what comes next."