Former Wolves, Wigan and Derby forward hails five-star Portsmouth in Papa John’s Trophy triumph against Aston Villa under-21s

Michael Jacobs was full of praise for Pompey's 5-0 win against Aston Villa's under-21s.

The former Wigan man also admitted it was an ideal night for the fringe players to remain hot on Danny Cowley’s mind.

The 30-year-old netted the Blues’ second goal of the evening as they picked up their first victory in this season’s competition.

Ronan Curtis’ strike after 67 seconds began the rout before goals from Jacobs, a double from Josh Koroma and a 25-yard strike from Reeco Hackett saw off Villa’s youngsters.

The forward revealed the result was never in doubt based on the calibre of players within his squad.

He told The News: It was good to get some minutes for me, it was a very good result and I thought we played alright and for everyone that wasn’t playing as much to get some minutes at Fratton Park.

‘I’ve had a bit of a niggly groin and been out a couple of weeks but it was nice to get back out there when the lads have been playing really well and it was good to top it off with a goal early on.

‘You look at the experience in this team and the levels that some of these boys have played at. I didn't expect anything less.

‘It was a young Aston Villa side and I thought once we got those two goals early I think it was always going to be a good night for us.

‘But now the calibre of players we’ve got in the team, we always backed ourselves tonight.’

While Pompey’s summer recruitment saw them bring in 12 new faces in the window, a number of names have had limited game time this term.

Jacobs admits it was the ideal opportunity for fringe players to remain hot on Cowley’s mind as they look to push the League One regulars for a place in his side.

‘Everyone wants to play.’ He continued.

‘When you get that opportunity you have to take it and try to push the boys who have been playing recently.

‘Apart from the result at the weekend, we’ve been doing really well so games like today help some of us push those players in there to be better.

‘The performance was really good tonight and if you’re not getting minutes then these sorts of games are a really good opportunity to top up and keep your fitness. It was a very nice night for us.’