Richie Barker has hailed his Portsmouth players for their "fantastic effort" in the 1-0 win against Dagenham & Redbridge on Boxing Day.
Pompey recorded their first win in 10 matches thanks to Romain Padovani's goal just before half time.
"It was a fantastic effort and the players showed a real desire to make sure they didn't concede at the end. I think there are one or two needed a bit of a kick up the backside, to be fair," Barker told the Portsmouth News.
"One or two had been going through the motions for the last five months. Maybe it's not the players' fault, to be honest.
"Players just get on with it and do whatever they are asked to do. It turns out it hasn't been good enough. Maybe one or two needed a bit of a help along the way."
Pompey are 17th in League Two.
