The defender who is set to save Portsmouth hundreds of thousands in January transfer window

And it’s a welcome return to form that could save Pompey thousands in the transfer market as the left-back eases concerns in that department approaching January.

Like most of the Blues’ current squad, Ogilvie found the step up to the second tier a challenge over the opening months of the campaign.

That saw Fratton Park’s ‘Mr Reliable’ often singled out for criticism as he struggled to cope with the calibre of winger he’d not been used to competing against in League One following his move from Gillingham in 2021.

Indeed, had it not been for an ongoing knee injury picked up by summer arrival Jacob Farrell in pre-season, there was every chance the 28-year-old could have found himself omitted from the side as Mousinho searched for the correct formula to turn Pompey’s Championship fortunes around.

That fact was reinforced when Farrell was named at left-back for Sheffield United’s visit to Fratton Park back in September - his one and only game for the Blues so far this term and the only time Ogilvie has not started for Pompey all season.

Ogilvie’s early-season form also pointed to the potential of Pompey dipping into the transfer market in January to solve what was considered a problem position.

In recent weeks, though, the former Spurs youngster has proven such talk as premature. He’s been growing in stature the longer the campaign has progressed and is proving to be no pushover - as the Championship’s finest wide men are quickly learning.

Controversial Watford forward Kwadwo Baah was the latest to find that out on Boxing Day. And with two-goal Ogilvie also proving a decent outlet for Pompey going forward, Mousinho believes the Fratton faithful are once again witnessing a player more than capable of holding his own on a Blues match day.

The head coach told The News: ‘I know there were some question marks earlier on in the season. I know Connor took a few minutes to adjust to the level, which was something we were happy to speak about.

‘I think he can count himself pretty unlucky in terms of the run of fixtures that we had against some of the bigger boys. In the first few games he found himself up against the likes of Dan James of Leeds, then Chiedozie Ogbene, who subsequently went to Ipswich in a multi-million pound move from Luton, then Isaiah Jones (Middlesbrough) and Patrick Roberts (Sunderland) and, you know, it just snowballed from there.

‘But once Connor adjusted, I think he’s been superb this past couple of weeks. You saw the amount of defending that he did Thursday and how difficult he made the game for Baah, in particular. I thought he got very little change out of him, defending against him really really well.

‘Last week we saw more of the attacking side of Connor Ogilive at Fratton Park when we played Coventry. So, yeah, overall, it’s been a fantastic second quarter of the season for Connor.’

Pompey will look to add reinforcements to their squad in January, with the Blues still in relegation trouble despite a recent upturn in both performances and results.

All departments have come under the microscope, including Pompey’s left-back position, as the Fratton Park club look to give themselves the best chance of remaining in the division.

Farrell’s anticipated comeback from injury in the new year won’t deflect from that mission. However, combined with Ogilvie’s return to form, it does provide Pompey with leeway to concentrate their search for additional quality elsewhere.

Mousinho added: ‘Connor’s a really good defender, a really good one-on-one defender. He’s comfortable on the ball, is a really good outlet and he can provide a lot going forward as well.

‘I think that’s where we start with Connor, making sure that he’s defensively solid - he always has been since I’ve been at the football club, very, very reliable and now he’s adjusted to the level, he’s looked better and better each week.’