‘I’m sick of watching other players get promoted’ - Portsmouth midfielder’s brutal admission ahead of League One battle with Derby, Bolton, Barnsley & Co

But the midfielder believes a cure is in the offing, with Pompey in a good place heading into the new 2023-24 League One campaign.

The Blues are set to begin their seventh successive season in the third tier, with Championship football very much the aim set by John Mousinho, Michael Eisner and the Fratton faithful.

To help achieve that, 10 new faces have been added to the ranks in the first four weeks of the summer window as the head coach primes his squad.

As a result, Pompey have since been earmarked as one of the early promotion contenders alongside Derby and Bolton.

That’s after big-spending Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday won promotion to the second tier last term, while clubs including Barnsley, Reading and Wigan have been hit with financial issues over the summer.

Morrell, who is entering his third season at Fratton Park, is tired of seeing his rivals and former team-mates claim gory at the end of the campaign.

But the midfielder is adamant the Blues have the best possible chance of reaching the Championship this season.

He told The News: ‘That’s the hope (of a weaker League One). You’ve lost three really, really good teams and we were all hoping that Sheffield Wednesday went up. I was watching that play-off final hoping they would go up. Then again Barnsley are going to be a good team.

‘We can sit here and say how easy League One’s going to be and how rubbish everyone is but it’s down to us to produce the goods.

‘I’m sick of seeing my ex-team-mates and ex-clubs getting promoted. I watched Luton at Wembley, I’ve watched Sheffield Wednesday and players I’ve played with and I’m sick of watching other players get promoted. It’s about time it should be this football club.

‘We’ve obviously been here too long and I’m pretty sure the supporters would be sick of these supposed big clubs getting promoted. But I feel like we’re in a better position for that now and we’re not going to be talking ourselves up.

‘It’s going to be a long season, there’s going to be plenty of ups and plenty of downs but we know the supporters will stick with us. That will be more important than ever this season because I feel we’re in a good place.’