Ex-Portsmouth captain on the factor he believes will be key to the Blues' promotion chances

Both summer signings were on target in the 2-0 defeat of Shrewsbury at Fratton Park yesterday.

Harrison – who joined from Ipswich for a fee of around £450,000 – opened the scoring in the 64th minute when he headed home Ross McCrorie’s delivery.

Then substitute Marquis, who arrived at PO4 for a sum in advance of £1m, doubled the advantage with eight minutes remaining.

Harrison has 10 goals for the Blues this campaign, with five in League One. Meanwhile, seven of Marquis’ 12 efforts have arrived in the third tier.

Lawrence reckons his former club stand a strong chance of enjoying a Championship return if the pair can hit double figures in the league.

Speaking on EFL on Quest, the ex-Fratton skipper said: ‘I was pleased that Ellis Harrison and Marquis scored.

‘Ellis has got five goals this year, Marquis has got seven. It was great finish by Ellis. I was at Bristol Rovers with him and he was a really good young footballer.

‘If Portsmouth can get them into double figures for the season then they’ll have a real chance of going up.’