Pompey v Accrington: Davies reveals he was punched in clash

But the defender joked the Blues’ pre-season boxing training held him in good stead following the incident on Saturday.

Davies was involved in a first-half exchange with McConville in Saturday’s 0-0 draw.

The Accrington man appeared to land a blow and then an extended bout of grappling ensued.

Referee Brendan Malone failed to send off McConville, however, and booked both men.

Davies confirmed there was punch landed but played down the exchange.

He said: ‘He (McConville) did get a little punch in.

‘But I’ve been down Bally’s Gym so I haven’t got anything to worry about!

‘He didn’t quite catch me properly and I was just going to get off him.

‘You have to be careful because the ref is looking at you and you can’t do anything.

‘Sometimes you are tempted to give a little knee in the face or forearm, but you can’t.

‘I don’t think he fancied tracking back so he just got hold of my shirt and I couldn’t get off him.

‘It’s one of those things.’

Davies admitted the level of performance from Pompey fell short of what is expected against Accrington and there was a lethargy in their play.

He said: ‘Everyone wants to see us winning and we know we can be a lot better.

‘Sometimes it’s hard to break teams down but we know we didn’t create enough either.

‘We were lethargic from the outset.

‘There will be times when we pick teams off, but there will be times like these, too.

‘It wasn’t good enough, though.’

- JORDAN CROSS