Rose delighted with Pompey's statement of intent

The Blues midfielder has been impressed with the business carried out by Kenny Jackett since he became manager last month.

Jackett has brought in Nathan Thompson, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, Luke McGee and Brett Pitman to date.

That has offset the loss of the likes of Enda Stevens, Michael Doyle, Amine Linganzi, Stanley Aborah and Noel Hunt.

Rose feels the quality of the new faces is a statement of intent from the new manager.

The 29-year-old believes it should serve as a reminder to the existing squad they have to be on their mettle.

Rose said: ‘It makes you remember we’re stepping up a level and keeps you on your toes.

‘These are the type of players we’re going to be able to attract.

‘We are going to attract players of a better calibre and we’re going to need them.

‘That’s what good clubs do.

‘Players move on and others come in to get the job done in the next league – and that’s football.’

Pitman’s arrival is undoubtedly the highest profile of the signings made to date by Jackett.

His decision to drop down from the Championship and leave Ipswich for Fratton Park is being viewed as a coup.

Rose feels the striker would’ve had a wealth of options at his disposal when it came to his next move.

So it speaks volumes of Pompey’s standing in the game he was prepared to drop to the third tier for them

‘There’s probably a handful of clubs he would have dropped down for to join given his record in the Championship,’ said Rose.

‘I expect there were clubs in the Championship and a host of League One clubs who would’ve taken him.

‘So we’re delighted to have him and hopefully we see him score plenty of goals here.’

McGee joined Pitman in making his Blues bow in Saturday’s third warm-up win against Bognor at Nyewood Lane.

Rose views the 21-year-old joining after 11 years at Spurs as more good news.

He added: ‘Luke’s had a promising start to his career.

‘He’s had a great education at Spurs.

‘You can see he’s well-rounded, comes off his line and takes crosses.

‘He also looks good with the ball at his feet.

‘That’s something which fits into the way we want to go about things.’

– JORDAN CROSS