Danny Cowley's promise as he delivers evidence Portsmouth are ready to vie with Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, Peterborough United, Barnsley & Co for success

And the Blues boss has vowed his team will get stronger as the League One campaign progresses this term.

Cowley is confident his men are showing the right signs when it comes to being in contention for promotion this term.

Pompey return to league action today at Morecambe aiming to improve a run of one win in seven in the third tier, after flying out of the blocks.

Cowley believes the stats show performances have been matched with results recently, however.

The head coach’s side are performing well defensively with their expected goals against (xGA) - a metric for solidity at the back - 1.13, according to footystats.org. Only Ipswich (0.99) better that in League One.

Meanwhile, Pompey are among the most threatening set-piece outfits in the league, with their set-piece xG of 5.39 - according to Opta Analyst.

That is only bettered by three teams, but Cowley’s men are actually outperforming that figure. That’s after bagging seven goals from corners and free-kicks in the league, a return bettered by only Port Vale (nine).

Pompey’s open–play xG of 10.80 comes in at just 15th in the League One table and is an area for improvement, but Cowley sees cause for optimism.

He said: ‘We always look at the statistics of performance.

‘There’s always naturally a lot of noise at big clubs and people look at the result, rightfully so.

‘For us, it’s to keep grounded and have a real good understanding.

‘We look at statistics behind results - things like expected goals and expected goals against.

‘I think for expected goals we’re near top, when it comes to the the lowest amount of expected goals against in the league.

‘That’s a positive.

‘We’ve also got high expected goals from set-pieces as well, which is good.

‘We want to keep trying to create chances in open play, which is something we’re working towards.

‘But we’re in a pretty good place.’

Pompey travel to Morecambe fifth in the table, four points off fourth-placed Peterborough, with 10 points the gap to Ipswich in second.

Cowley’s men have two games in hand, but the head coach also pointed to an expectation his players will improve over the season in the manner his teams have historically in his management career.

He added: ‘It’s for us to now to keep focused, keep working and keep developing the team.

‘I believe our teams have always got better, I’ve always felt that.

‘So we’re looking ahead to the challenges to come.

‘We’re totally aware of where we are today and where the group is at.

‘We know the challenges we have and the things we can affect, so we put our energies into that.

‘Some we can’t affect, like the injuries, but we put our energies into what we can control - and we’re enjoying the journey we’re on.’