Not every trip to the coast can be a grand day out. Some Leeds United players seemed like they were playing on sand at Fratton Park yesterday as loose balls and sloppy passes abounded.

Portsmouth made hay while the sun shone. Sunday seemed more like a bad day at the office for Leeds than a return of last year’s jitters.

There will be understandable angst among supporters given what happened during last season’s run-in, but the two must not be conflated - yet. The defeat is rather ill-timed, though.

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Burnley’s 4-0 win over Luton Town on Saturday means they now lie just two points off league leaders Leeds in third.

Both they and Sheffield United - level on points with Leeds - could jump above the Whites on Tuesday with results, Leeds not hosting Millwall until Wednesday. And all after going 17 previous league games unbeaten.

Daniel Farke has remained consistent in his mantra throughout; the table only truly matters on matchweek 46. He toed that line after the wins against Sunderland and Sheffield United and he similarly did so again after the loss to Portsmouth.

This time though, gone were the plush seating and elevated desks of Elland Road and Bramall Lane. Farke was speaking to reporters in a side room sitting on a metal-framed chair in front of a work table as seagulls cackled overhead outside.

It might have been easy to portray a downcast vibe away from the TV lenses, bar one phone camera. Not so.

The Leeds boss underlined that he did not want to take away from the frustration that fans would feel. After all, nobody likes to lose.

But he exuded a mood that said it’s not the end of the world, there’s still a race to be run, that table-toppers United still remain in the box seat. He is confident that there will not be a repeat of last season. There is no fretting or sweating here. Not from me.

"Why should there be an implosion?" Farke calmly asked rhetorically. "To create this amount of chances, it's just simply to put the chances to bed.

“I would panic a little bit if Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo have not proven they can score out of these [scoring] situations. If our defensive players would have allowed more often a goal like this, I would panic a little bit. I know we can be much more effective.

“Difficult upcoming games, so for that we don't take anything as granted. If you want to finish in a top position you have to show consistency over 46 games, it never comes easy. I've won the title a couple of times but it was never taking it easy in February and March and relax.

"It was always a tough road. Sometimes you lose a game but overall our season is impressive. We just need to be more effective."

Much like the 260-mile journey back to Leeds on Sunday, the path back to the Premier League is arduous. Banana skins litter the way, and it would be naïve not to have expected some in the final 11 games.

Farke pinned Sunday’s match as one of those banana skins given Pompey’s 2025 record. Twelve games, seven wins and a draw. That puts them in the top six of the form table since January 1, and just three points worse off than Leeds’ own pro rata tally.

So there are worse fights to lose. And ultimately, United still have their destiny in their own hands. Farke would do well to tell that to his players, and probably already has.

The German coach has been here three times before and has twice earned promotion. He’s seen it, he’s done it - but not yet with Leeds, and that’s where the scepticism comes in. Getting Norwich City promoted was a coup, getting United promoted is an expectation.

Last year, he and Leeds succumbed to the pressure and Sunday’s result sparks natural and justified anxiety from the terraces. Farke, though, is staying level-headed.

He saw enough from his side to mark the defeat as a one-of-those-days result. United ended the game with an xG (expected goals) ratio of 2.27, 2.00 of which might have been Piroe’s missed chances.

But Firpo also hit the bar and was spurned during a one-on-one while Sam Byram saw a header well-saved. Meanwhile, Portsmouth’s xG stood at just 0.66. The Championship, huh.

“You have to say congratulations, they used their one big chance. This happens in football,” Farke reasoned. He felt that Leeds were denied a penalty when Daniel James was felled in the first half but didn’t want to use that as an excuse.

He also emanated a manager who knows he won’t play a top seven six for the rest of the season, and will face just two of the current top 10 in the final 10 matches.

Not all lower-table teams will be as plucky as Pompey. Never one to get too high or too low, the iceman-like Farke is keeping his cool.

This, by the way, is not a facade or playing to the gallery. It seems clear he genuinely believes there is no need to panic.

As alluded to, there are still bumps in the road ahead to navigate and the finish line is not in sight. United need to ensure a bad day doesn’t turn into bad form.

Because, yes indeed, Farke, will ultimately be judged on where Leeds are sitting come matchday 46 at Plymouth Argyle on May 3 at 2pm - the club’s next trip to the south coast. Hopefully that trip will be more celebratory.