Cook: Why bed helped me cope with Pompey agony

Yet for Paul Cook, the agony of the Plymouth defeat still lingers as he prepares to overcome York.

Fratton Park was stunned as the Pilgrims snatched a win from nowhere in the final six minutes of Saturday’s crucial fixture.

Pompey had been in complete control through Michael Smith’s first-half header before Jamille Matt’s 84th minute leveller.

Derek Adams’ side went on to win the encounter to leave the Blues’ automatic promotion hopes in tatters.

A stewing Cook admits he chose not to seek company afterwards and instead sought solace at home that evening.

Now he’s hoping the hammer blow is out of everyone’s system when Pompey tonight face York (7.45pm).

He said: ‘I struggle to get lifted.

‘I was very flat after the game, went home and just went to bed. My sons were down but I never spoke to them.

‘Then I woke up on Sunday morning and felt great.

‘You have just got to put it behind you. You cannot react good, cannot react bad, but if it doesn’t hurt me how does it hurt everyone else?

‘It’s hard to get over stuff when you think “What could I have done better?”. That is the biggest thing as a manager.

‘It’s about feeling you could have affected an outcome and might have let yourself and supporters down.

‘I felt at 6-7pm on Saturday I should have made a defensive change or put Ben Close on as an extra midfielder. But if Plymouth then score I’ll probably get slaughtered for being negative.

‘The reality of football is that at that stage of the game, when teams throw men forward, you have a couple of issues to deal with. How I deal with them normally is having the result out of sight.

‘I never felt we created loads of chances by the way, I’m not saying we battered Plymouth, we didn’t.

‘But we looked the better team and didn’t appear in trouble. But at 1-0 up you are always susceptible.’

The Blues tonight take on a Minstermen side which has failed to win in their previous 12 outings.

And how is Cook’s mood ahead of the Bootham Crescent clash?

He added: ‘I thought I was over it until I drove into the training ground yesterday morning and saw one or two players – then was back in bad mood.’