'One of the best midfields in League One': Portsmouth favourite hails Danny Cowley's trump card in battle for promotion with Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, MK Dons, Wycombe and Co

That’s the verdict of Louis Thompson, who is buoyed by the summer addition of Marlon Park to the Blues’ strong midfield ranks.

The former Cardiff man joins Joe Morrell, Ryan Tunnicliffe and, of course, Thompson competing for first-team selection under Danny Cowley in the forthcoming season.

Last term Wales international Morrell and free-agent Thompson enjoyed impressive maiden Fratton Park campaigns in Pompey’s engine room.

While Tunnicliffe started in eye-catching form before a serious injury sidelined him for a large chunk of the season.

And with the calibre of quartet to choose from, Thompson is optimistic for the season ahead.

He told The News: ‘Do you know what, I think it’s one of the best (central) midfields you are going to get in League One, to be honest with you.

‘Irrespective of budgets, I don't think you’ll get better players than we have in midfield.

‘We’ve got really competitive, high-quality midfield options, so it’s down to us all to chip in. You will need every single one of us at some stage this season, so it’s going to be a challenge to nail down that starting role – but it’s one we have to relish and push ourselves.

‘We’ve got masses of Championship experience when you look at it, so you are hard-pressed to get a better group.

‘Different games require different skill sets, it can only be a positive having the competition, you can see the quality each player possesses. I don’t think there's a like-or-like, one in, one out, there’s different needs for different games.

‘Joe (Morrell) wants to get on the ball and keep it moving, Marlon is comfortable in possession, as we all are, Tunny sees those forward runs probably more than us other three.

‘There’s the balance last season when I played with Tunny and Joe, where I felt I could offer that defensive stability.

‘Then you also have the other side of the game with the number 8/10, with Michael Jacobs playing in there a fair bit, while Reeco (Hackett) can also go there.

‘We’ve got a really balanced squad. Once we fill that forward line, we’ll be in a really good place.’

Cowley varied his system throughout last season, largely alternating between two or three central midfielders.

Meanwhile, Jay Mingi could also be thrown into the equation following an encouraging pre-season.

Thompson added: ‘Pompey will always have an expectation where we want to do well, internally and externally, they marry up. We know what we want to achieve.

‘You look at our second half of last season, I don't think you can really say we’re far off what’s required for a team to get promoted.

‘We need to build on that, individually as well as collectively. We are a bit light in the forward line, but once those players come in all over the pitch, we’ll be pretty well-matched with teams in this division.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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