How Portsmouth can gain an edge over likes of Blackpool, Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and Lincoln City in the play-offs this season

And the Blues defender believes ending the campaign with impetus can give his side the edge over their rivals when it comes to achieving promotion.

Danny Cowley’s side ended a run of four wins on the spin under their new manager with a 2-1 defeat against Burton Albion on Saturday.

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That saw Pompey drop to fifth in the table with seven games remaining of the regular season.

The aim now is to achieve a top six place and then gain a Championship spot through the play-offs at the third time of asking.

Reaching that setting on the back of strong run is what now has to be the aim - and Daniels feels doing so could work out in Pompey’s favour when they get there.

He said: ‘Whatever league it’s in, when you see teams going into the play-offs on a run it doesn’t half make a big difference.

‘We’ve seen it happen in the Championship and League One when teams end up third or fourth and they’ve stuttered.

‘Having that positivity and continuity going into it don’t half make a big difference going into the play-offs.

‘So we need to address the defeat, evaluate and move on.

‘There’s a lot of positivity around the club, so hopefully this is a blip and we can put it right on Tuesday.’

The mood around the first-team set-up has been energised by the Cowleys’ arrival, with the season drifting under Kenny Jackett before his departure four weeks ago.

Carrying that enthusiasm forward despite the Burton ‘blip’ is important for Daniels.

He added: ‘We’ve done alright because we’ve won four out of five.

‘It’s a lot of information to take after playing a certain way for four years under Kenny, which brought some success.

‘Taking new ideas on board can be challenging and you get that first adaptation over the first few weeks.

‘Then it’s the ability to keep going and driving.

‘It was that little bit of sharpness and pace in the passing which was missing against Burton. We have to put it down as a blip and go again Tuesday.

‘They are full of energy and ideas. They are full of forward-thinking stuff which I like.

‘They want to play football, they want a fast possession-based game. That’s something I’m used to and enjoy.

‘What happened, happened.There’s a new manager and it’s at a point of the season where we need to react quickly to a new manager to get positive results if we are to be in the play-offs.

‘It’s worked so if we continue there’s no reason this club can’t be in the fold at the end of the season.’

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