Notts County manager John Sheridan is looking to restore the 'buzz' around the club by beating Portsmouth on Saturday.
The Magpies are without a win in their last three league matches and Sheridan acknowledges things have felt 'flat'.
But, while he is wary of Portsmouth's threat, the manager is determined to change that this weekend.
Sheridan said: "I'd say Portsmouth are probably the best team in the league. They played very well last week at Plymouth - they battered them, for me.
"There'll be a big crowd on Saturday and it will be a really tough game but, whatever team we pick, we go there with the belief we can get back to winning ways.
"It's been a bit flat in the last two weeks and I don't like that feeling, so I'd like to get back to winning football matches and giving everyone the buzz they had two weeks ago."
Sheridan confirmed that Jon Stead would be unavailable after sustaining an ankle injury against Crewe. The club are awaiting results of a scan to determine the severity of the forward's injury.
Captain Michael O'Connor, meanwhile, will be back in the squad after returning to training recently.
It remains to be seen whether the Northern Irishman is given the nod on the south coast, but whichever side the manager selects will be expected to resolve the Magpies' habit of conceding sloppy goals.
Sheridan said: "The players understand we have to work harder to keep clean sheets. The number of goals we've conceded isn't as good as I'd like it to be. They know they can do a lot better.
"It's something we've worked on this week because I do feel we've got goals in us, so if we keep clean sheets we've got a good chance of winning.
"I think we're actually an alright team when we're set up and organised - a lot of teams don't play through us. But we've been punished when we've switched off.
"I want us to be a good team, to be strong and to not concede sloppy goals."