COMMNENT: Pompey failed previously with so much in their favour - now key factors are stacked against them

Four attempts at promotion, and four efforts which have seen them enter proceedings as fancied contenders to reach the Championship.

But not this time.

Even a maiden effort under Kenny Jackett after Paul Cook’s League Two title success saw the Blues rated third in the pecking order behind the financial muscle and depth of Blackburn and Wigan in 2017.

That was followed by the oddsmakers making Jackett’s side short-priced favourites for success on three occasions, along with Sunderland.

But that’s certainly not the case this season.

Across the various offerings, Danny Cowley’s men will start the campaign around sixth favourites to go up.

With Sky Bet, for example, Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Wigan are all shorter prices than Pompey to be celebrating success come next May.

And we know the bookies rarely get it wrong.

As the Blues’ head coach has been keen to point out, however, nearly all of his career successes have arrived without his team being among the fancied contenders.

But their standing this time around is perhaps an insight into how sizeable those previous opportunities were - and how much tougher the challenge is going to be in the months ahead.

Because, be in absolutely no doubt about it, this is the most testing League One in many a year.

In fact, you’re likely going back to the days when Pompey were still a Premier League outfit to see a third tier as stacked as this in terms of quality.

The 2009-10 season saw Norwich and Leeds United go up automatically in a division which also contained the likes of Millwall, Huddersfield, Charlton and our friends from along the M27.

So the terrain is a challenging one for Cowley’s troops to survey as they stand at the foot of a treacherous League One mountain.

But how well prepared are they for the journey which lies ahead?

Well the dark clouds which spewed acid rain under Jackett have lifted, with a brighter outlook under his successor.

No one, however, should be ignoring the reality he’s going into the season still ill-equipped for tackling the steep inclines which lie in wait.

Cowley’s signings have offered cause for encouragement with Championship nous and experience in the building, but the reality is there’s plenty of work still to be done.

The time until August 31 is going to be needed to remedy that situation, and with the season in play it feels the early challenge is to avoid losing ground on the pacesetters.

And in a division where spending has reached levels few anticipated this summer, there appears many well placed to come out of the blocks quickly.

Ipswich Town already look the team to beat with a man who knows how to deliver lower-league success at the helm, armed with an American-backed transfer warchest.

The seven-figure recruitment, five-figure weekly wages and hefty signing-on fees have caught the eye, with a squad stacked with talent now in place.

From the rest, Wigan have spent big and Sunderland have the capability to do likewise.

Sheffield Wednesday are in transition but possess players who will stand out at this level, while Charlton have the look of potential contenders.

To end the assessment there would be foolish, however.

Unfashionable Wycombe have regrouped after relegation and kept the bulk of their Championship group together, while Rotherham will remain a force at this level.

And overlook the dark horses at your peril.

MK Dons are a side on the rise with an eye-catching manager and brand of football. Their recruitment has been some of the most impressive of the summer.

Shrewsbury have increased their spending and are an upwardly-mobile outfit under Steve Cotterill, while Burton Albion finished last term impressively and will be a muscular tough nut to crack under Jimmy Floyd Hasslelbaink.

The good news for Pompey is they’ve shown their first XI looks to be a competitive one.

Clark Robertson has shone in pre-season, the midfield pairing of Shaun Williams and Ryan Tunnicliffe possesses third-tier class, while Gassan Ahadme’s pre-season goal rush has given cause for measured optimism.

Cowley will need to ride his luck for his threadbare options not to be exposed early on, though.

And with a refusal to compromise over quality married with rivals who can ‘blow Pompey out of the water’ financially, some fortune is required to get the additions in who are still desperately needed.

So some reasons to be cheerful - and plenty of reasons to keep ambitions in check.

Because after failing with so much loaded in their favour, if the Championship is to be realised at the fifth attempt Pompey will be doing it with plenty of the key factors stacked up against them.