IT’S been, for Craig Hignett, the worst of times. The best of times seemed a million miles away.

Hartlepool United went to Portsmouth on the back of conceding nine goals in two games, with Hignett losing his assistant manager and being forced to the stands on the back of a two-game FA touchline ban.

Seven days earlier, in losing 5-0 at home to Cambridge, he suffered his worst day in football.

Pride, however, was restored at Portsmouth as Pools gave the sort of gritty and tough performance which seems so alien to them so often.

Without Trevor Carson and his heroics in goal, making three sublime second-half saves, make no mistake Pools would have lost. Attacking threat was minimal, but it wasn’t that sort of day, this was all about what happened at the other end.

With an organised and solid back four – Scott Harrison at his best with Toto Nsiala taken out of the side – they were effective defensively.

Liam Donnelly gave nothing away at right back, Bates and Harrison were solid in the middle at the recalled Jake Carroll on the left side settled into giving a performance as safe as he has been.

Thankfully, the experiment of playing Nicky Featherstone in a more advanced role was sacked off after one game and he returned to a calming spot in front of the back four.

Now it’s about taking this set up – everything Pools weren’t against Cambridge they were on this occasion – into the next two home games over Christmas week.

Hignett was in the stands at Fratton Park, looking on following his latest FA suspension, two games this time after three previously this season.

How he must have wondered why Pompey boss Paul Cook got away with his antics on Saturday as he constantly railed at the officials.

But Hignett, with Under-21s coach Sam Collins in the dug out alongside goalkeeping coach Tony Caig, got his message across, from start to finish. And the finish came after ten and a half minutes of second-half added on time.

“My weekends and weeks have been miserable recently and I’ve been hurting,’’ reflected Hignett.

“I’ve had to find a way of stopping shipping goals and finding a way of rallying them and it’s been tough for us all, but they say tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

“We will take that, we aren’t quitters and proved we don’t have any quitters in the football team.’’

He added: “It’s hard in the stands, but I had a good view where I was sat with the chairman and we both kicked every ball for 100 minutes, a long, long game to sit through but I don’t think they were every going to score.

“We blocked and tackled and headed away and showed what we can do.

“Now we have to take this home on Boxing Day. We owe the fans one at home after the last one, it’s important to get back to winning games.’’

Hignett had to take Nsiala out of the side after the previous game, and held on until 99 minutes in before he was introduced as an extra body at the back.

By then, Pools had long frustrated Pompey, big players, big budgets and big crowds. They showed they can do it.

“I’ve been hurt the last couple of weeks. Players have been hurt, they’ve come under a lot of criticism and rightly so and me too. We deserved it.

“And you don’t turn into a bad team overnight, it’s about getting this sort of performance out of them and they showed belief and they are in it all together.

“We need luck, but I wouldn’t call it luck, we had some very good performances.

“They did everything I asked of them and is this my best back four? Perhaps it is. I know from everyone who played, the subs and the whole squad were part of it.

“They showed what we wanted and that’s not always been the case.’’

Carson came into his own in the second-half. As the opening 45 minutes ended he brilliantly tipped over a Michael Doyle piledriver only for a goal kick to be awarded.

Former Pompey keeper Carson must have been perversely disappointed not to be credited with such a stop.

His best, however, came as Doyle struck a fierce first-time volley from 20 yards. The keeper got down low, pushing a hand out to his left to firmly stop it and then pouch the loose ball.

It was one of three in 14 minutes; the week before Pools shipped four in 19.