Pompey face another stern test of their promotion credentials tomorrow when Coventry visit a sold-out Fratton Park armed with former striker Lee Mills, who is having a much happier time in the Midlands than he did on the south coast.

Mills spent months sidelined with injury after signing for manager Tony Pulis for a then record £1.2 million in August 2000 from Bradford.

He then found it difficult to hold down a first team place at Pompey, and managed just 22 starts with only four goals.

After a move to Highfield Road in January this year for £250,000, the 32-year old scored five goals last season for the Sky Blues and has got as many again in this campaign.

His strike partner, Jay Bothroyd, has seven, the latest coming in the recent impressive win at Gillingham.

There is strong competition for a place up front from youngster Gary McSheffery - he and Bothroyd have both come into England Under-21 contention.

The Sky Blues sit handily in seventh position, ten points behind Pompey, and have lost just once away.

New player-manager, 37-year old Gary McAllister, has already blooded youngsters like former Liverpool winger Richie Partridge and local boy David Pipe in midfield.

The postponement of last week's fixture at Wolves was a mixed blessing for Harry Redknapp's Pompey outfit, who were on a high after the outstanding 3-2 win at Rotherham.

Not surprisingly, they were anxious to take on Dave Jones' demoralised squad after their recent poor run of results.

But Arjan De Zeeuw (anke) and Gianluca Festa (toe) have had time to shake off niggling injuries while Jason Crowe (groin), Richard Hughes (hamstring) and Hayden Foxe (hamstring) have all moved closer to full recoveries, although none will be involved tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Eddie Howe's knee continues to cause problems and he is still some weeks away from a resolution.

After tomorrow, Pompey face Burnley, Preston, Leicester, Wolves and Derby and Redknapp said: "It will be a big month and it couldn't be tougher. We will know where we are going this season after those. But we have made an incredible start and given ourselves a great platform.

Pompey will name an unchanged squad from that which impressed with their quality and durability in the Millmoor cauldron at Rotherham two weeks ago.

They will be looking to make it seven league wins in a row at Fratton Park to further convince the Pompey fans - and 40 former Pompey players from all eras who will parade before the game - that this really can be their year.