Guy Whittingham admitted relegation wouldn’t have been on the agenda if he had inherited his current Pompey squad.
The Blues caretaker boss has had to rebuild the club’s first-team set-up since taking charge in November from Michael Appleton.
A host of players left in January, with the club unable to offer long-term deals, leaving Whittingham to start from scratch in a bid to formulate a side that would remain competitive in League One.
That transition coincided with a club-record 23-match run without a win, which makes League Two football at Fratton Park inevitable next season.
But with Pompey now boasting an impressive four wins and two draws from their past seven games – a run that has seen them move off the bottom of the table – Whittingham believes his current crop of players could have been dreaming of bigger and better things.
‘One thing is guaranteed, I think, the way you see the team performing, we wouldn’t be were we are now,’ said Whittingham.
‘How far we could go, I don’t know. But we are were we are now.
‘I’m just glad we’ve turned it around and that we’re doing quite well now. The fans have got something to cheer about.’
– MARK McMAHON