Martin Allen takes his Barnet side to Portsmouth on Matchday 7 of Sky Bet League 2 this weekend, and it's a trip the manager is relishing.
The 50-year-old played for Portsmouth between 1995 and 1997 and wore the captain's armband during his time at Fratton Park.In his pre-match notes on barnetfc.com, Allen outlined how much everyone in the Bees camp is looking forward to Saturday's encounter.
“It’s a fantastic stadium full of history, and no doubt 15 or 16 thousand people will be there,” he said.
“It’ll be a great occasion for all of our players and staff, and of course myself as a former Portsmouth player and captain – it will be a special day for me personally.
“However, once we get onto that bus on Saturday morning, and once the game gets going, it’ll be all guns blazing.”
Read more: Sky Bet League 2: Matchday 7 preview
While his former club Pompey sit fifth in Sky Bet League 2 and are yet to be defeated this season, Barnet are down in 21st having lost four of their first six games back in The Football League, winning only once so far.
But Allen is backing his team, and felt his side were unlucky to fall to a 3-2 defeat to Carlisle United last time out.
“Having reviewed the DVD of the game I think it was very harsh that we suffered defeat there.
“Of course there are some things that we could have done better. But the overall passion, desire, and general play from our team has been good.
“There is always room for improvement – we just need to improve in a few little areas, keep believing in our players and we can do well.
“With regards to Portsmouth, they haven’t lost a game all season and they’ve got some very good players.
“They’ve virtually rebuilt and brought in a whole new team, recruiting from the lower leagues. They’ve got a fantastic manager in Paul Cook.
“He won the championship in League 2 with Chesterfield, and you must be a good manager to win a championship of course.”
Will Martin Allen's men secure three points against his former employers? Follow our Twitter match updates via @SkyBetLeague2 to find out.