Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley jokes he and Fratton faithful are singing from same sheet when it comes to former Sunderland and Millwall forward Aiden O'Brien

So much so that the Fratton Park chief joked that he was singing along with the supporters as they chanted ‘sign him up, sign him up’ during today’s 4-0 win against Accrington.

It’s taken the former Sunderland forward just six games to earn the full respect of the PO4 faithful.

His energy, commitment and never-say-die attitude has really struck a chord with Pompey fans – characteristics that were once again on display in bag fulls as the Blues stretched their unbeaten run to six games.

And it was his superb approach work in the build-up to Ryan Tunnicliffe’s 69th-minute goal that captivated the Fratton faithful further as the Irishman firmly establishes himself as a fans’ favourite in his new surroundings.

Signed on deadline day until the end of the season, the home crowd made their admiration and their feelings on his future known when O’Brien was replaced by Jay Mingi on 78 minutes.

And the ‘sign him up’ ovation he got as he was awarded a small rest ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Crewe was not lost on the manager, who confessed he was thinking along the same lines.

When asked post-match by Radio Solent about O’Brien’s contribution to date and his obvious affiliation with the fans, Cowley responded: ‘Yeah, I was signing with them!

‘I thought – what energy, what enthusiasm, just a really infectious personality and, yeah, he’s made a real connection here for sure’.

In his six games to date for the Blues, O’Brien has scored three goals and provided one assist.