Defender pinpoints what’s changed for Portsmouth as they vie with Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, Peterborough United & Co to finally reach Championship

And Connor Ogilvie believes the Blues are showing signs of being more ruthless in taking their chances, as they bid to reach the second tier at the seventh time of asking.

John Mousinho’s side moved to the top of the formative League One table with victory at Barnsley on Tuesday.

The win also makes it 19 games unbeaten for Pompey, with signs of progress evident.

Ogilvie believes a big factor in his side’s development is the 14 new faces this summer, adding to a decent core of players already in situ.

He said: ‘It’s the competition for places and we’ve got strength in depth.

‘You can see it in every position now.

‘So we’re fighting for our positions and we know that.

‘The standards will always rise when there’s fierce competition like we’ve got. That’s what there is now.

‘It’s good to have the strength in depth we’ve got, that’s for sure.

‘There’s two players in every position and it makes a big difference.

‘We’re going to get injuries and squads and that’s when we need the depth to show and other players to come through.’

Ogilvie’s 16th-minute header at Oakwell proved central to his side picking up a 3-2 success, as Mousinho’s side tore apart Neill Collins’ side.

It was a ruthless display of attacking football which the the Pompey defender contributed to with his maiden goal of the campaign.

Ogilvie bagged five goals last term, to share second place in the Blues goal charts with Marlon Pack behind Colby Bishop.

The 27-year-old is looking towards a repeat of that decent total last term.

He added: ‘We’re taking our chances.

‘There’s one for me now - hopefully there’s a few more!

‘Five’s the target, so hopefully I can get there again. It’s a good target to go for, so I want to keep getting in there and get a few more.’