Jackett has carried Pompey through a minefield

The Blues boss today celebrates his first year in charge of the club after succeeding Paul Cook.

And chief executive Mark Catlin has congratulated the manager on his stewardship through a potentially difficult period.

Catlin admitted, however, the context to Pompey’s eighth-placed finish in League One will be given by how next season unfolds.

He said: ‘Kenny’s done amazingly well.

‘There were peaks and troughs through the year. Good performances and bad performances.

‘But the table doesn’t lie and we finished eighth – just outside the play-offs.

‘You have to judge that on merit, and, on merit, that was deemed to be a successful season.

‘But we are Pompey and our aspirations are high, and I’m sure Kenny will be looking to improve on it next season.

‘I did feel this season was a potential minefield for us in terms of new ownership, new manager, new players, new style and new league.

‘All businesses don’t react well to change. When you get changes of ownership and business it can be turbulent, as we’ve seen at clubs in our division. I think we navigated all that very well.

‘It is still tinged with disappointment we didn’t make the play-offs, given it was within our grasp for a long time.

‘Whether this season is the success we thought it was will depend on how we kick on next season.

‘This can be seen as a great base for Kenny to work out the pros and cons of the squad and where to improve – which he will be supported in.

‘If we go from eighth and don’t achieve highs it may not have been the success we thought it was.

‘But, judged on merit now, it has to be deemed a success.’

Catlin believes Jackett has worked well under the Blues’ owners and his approach will chime with what fans want moving forward.

The club chief added: ‘If you look at Kenny’s teams previously which enjoyed success, they were disciplined, committed and above all else work very hard. That’s something the club prides itself in and is something Kenny is translating on to the pitch. We’re pretty sure we’ll see more evidence of that next season.

‘He’s been an absolute joy to work with.’