Danny Cowley interview: Portsmouth manager says the better his side play, the harder they will work

Danny Cowley is sitting at his desk. He caught his breath after facing the local media at the training ground.

He was named Sky Bet League One Manager of the month for August after leading Pompey to their best start in five seasons.

His team have won six in a row, scored 17 and conceded just six, three of which came in a 3-3 opening day draw at Wednesday. They have one of the few remaining perfect records in English football.

Cowley is a modest, level-headed character and he doesn't want to be the only one who praises this.

He says that the players deserve a lot of credit for the way they have started the season after working incredibly hard. It's wonderful to see the players achieve the rewards they deserve.

There's the team behind the team who are so focused on their job that they don't take themselves too seriously. They are always putting the players first and trying to create an environment that has a nice balance between stretching and supporting the players in order to give them the best chance of success.

Our supporters, who have a unique way of influencing our team's performance, are the third and most important thing. They have had an effect on the outcome of games by driving the team's energy. We're proud to have started the season well and have been recognized.

The award is an improvement over the previous year. A year ago, Cowley's team had 11 points after eight games and were 12th in the table. They missed out on the play-offs despite being in the promotion mix for a long time.

Their struggles away from home made a big difference. They won six times, but only took 28 points on their travels.

Cowley's troops have collected more than a third of the total in just four games, but he isn't sure if that will be a deciding factor this year.

The away form could be a defining one.

We are off to a great start away from home. It was good to put a really resilient performance together after a difficult start at Wednesday. We have been able to build on that by winning against Port Vale and Burton.

It's your away performances that determine the success of the team. When you travel away, we have some good characters in the group and real resilience and determination about us as a team.

At Fratton Park they have the same record.

Despite the fact that there is currently a slightly reduced capacity at Fratton Park due to the ongoing redevelopment work, average home attendances have increased considerably.

The current average is 18,142, which is the same as the average in the previous 22 years.

Fratton Park is a great place to play sports. It's a great place.

Our connection with the supporters has grown and that takes time. We've won 12 and drawn three in the last 15 games, so we're enjoying playing there.

It doesn't feel like 11v11 when our fans are behind us. This season, we have gone behind against Cambridge and Peterborough, and they have just stayed with the players and the players, as a result, have been able to retain their belief to stay on method and that has helped us to find our way back into games.

We know how much the club means to so many people and it's wonderful to wake up every morning and know you are doing a job that has an impact on people's lives." It is a pleasure to work at this club.

He and his brother and assistant have assembled a squad on the south coast. It has a blend of youth and experience, with some of the more senior players having played in divisions above League One.

"We have 12 players that are 21 and under in the squad and 10 of them are our own, so that gives us a real energy and enthusiasm every day in training, which is just fantastic for us as coaches, young players that want to develop and improve."

Some of the senior players we have are Michael Morrison, Clark Robertson, Sean Raggett, Joe Rafferty, and Conor Ogilvie. There's a nice balance in the group because they are senior players that are good influences on the younger players.

There is a positive feeling. I've had six promotions in my managerial career and the togetherness of the group has always been an attribute of those teams. When you put like minded people together in a changing room, you can achieve good things.

One of those young players is an 18-year-old who is on a season-long loan from Spurs, who has scored four goals and assisted another for Pompey this season.

He scored 12 goals in 14 caps for England U19s, despite making just 10 senior appearances.

Dane is a great player. He has an unbelievable level of competence and as a result, he has a lot of confidence in himself.

Young players with talent need to make sure their work ethic matches their talent. If they can do that, they will be able to fulfill their talent.

As a consequence of where his talent is at, Dane has to work extremely hard, but the fact that he loves the game and wants to improve on a daily basis is great to see.

The 43-year-old is not getting ahead of himself - it would be careless for him - or anyone else, for that matter - to do so, even with just shy of 20% of the regular season fixture done and dusted.

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He is encouraged by what he has seen and grateful for the time between games to reflect on what he has learned.

It is very early in the season and there are a lot of clubs. You can't wait for the next game when you are in a good run of form and the players are confident.

When you are able to get ahead of the game, it's always good and we want to stay on top of things for as long as possible.

It was great to have a full week of preparation after we got back on the grass. The opening run of games taught us a lot and last week we prioritised learning.

We have been looking at ways to improve our performance in possession and out of possession, trying to keep developing the players, understanding and building the partnerships and relationships within the team

The process is enjoyable for us. We're always trying to stay process-driven and the better we do, the harder we work. We try to live with the motto and see where it leads.

He gets to his feet and leaves the room to attack the next challenge.