‘It’s close’: Portsmouth striker’s message as prize moves into sight ahead of Derby County promotion showdown

Colby Bishop called on Pompey to ride the wave of euphoria surrounding his football club to promotion.

And the Magic Man admitted he now has his sights firmly set on breaking the 20-goal barrier in the league for the second successive campaign, after his two-goal salvo in the 3-1 success at Wycombe

Bishop took his total to the season to 18 league goals with his first-half double at Adams Park, as John Mousinho’s side made it 13 games unbeaten.

The result means Pompey are now 11 points clear of third-placed Bolton and need eight more points to guarantee their place in the Championship, with six games remaining.

They could move another step closer to the prize, in Tuesday’s top-of-the-table showdown with Derby County under the Fratton lights.

The sense of momentum is growing to a crescendo with the synergy between players and fans once again evident - with Bishop calling for more of the same for the Sky-televised clash.

He said: ‘It’s close.

‘It’s close, but we need to keep the buzz around the place.

‘When you go on these runs you just don’t feel like you can lose, and you keep ticking them away.

‘At the moment I just want us to keep enjoying it.

‘If you can’t notice the energy at the moment with these away games and how it is at home, there’s something wrong.

‘It’s obvious to see, it feels like the fans are getting louder and louder each game.

‘We buzz off it, but know we need to keep our feet on the floor and not celebrate until the job is done.’

Bishop is now three goals off the division’s top marksman in Charlton’s Alfie May, as he goes in search of breaking the 20-goal barrier in League One in back-to-back campaigns.

The 27-year-old hit 24 finishes in his maiden season at PO4, with four of those efforts coming in knockout competitions.

Bishop added: ‘Twenty is in my sights. Six games to go, I’d like to think I’d get there.

‘I’ve not scored at at the rate I’d like recently, but that’s a striker’s life and sometimes it happens.

‘If you’d said I had 18 goals with six games to go, I’d be happy and think that is a really good season. I’m happy.’