'The door is closed': Danny Cowley reveals Portsmouth pursuit of Accrington man over - and why Blackpool triumphed

And the head coach insists the Blues were thwarted by the striker’s Championship ambition rather than financially.

The Accrington man had been booked in for a Fratton Park medical on Monday afternoon after a bid had been accepted.

However, Blackpool entered the race late on to tempt Bishop, offering the chance to remain in the north and, most crucial of all, Championship football.

Pompey claimed a 5-2 success at Leyton Orient tonight in their latest friendly, with new-boy Joe Pigott netting twice.

Yet with Bishop off the table, the striker search continues.

Cowley told The News: ‘It doesn’t really matter (how close it was) does it? We weren’t close enough.

‘It’s football. When you have lived it as long as I have, nothing surprises you, you have to always expect the unexpected.

‘You never want to talk about somebody else’s player. Naturally players that we sign and want to sign, those A-star characters we like, will want to play to the highest level they can – and we accept and understand this.

‘Sometimes it can be more painful if you lose a player for financial reasons - this one genuinely wasn’t.

‘And I believe the door is shut.

‘Our focus is trying to find forwards, we have been trying to do that since February 1, we knew the situation, we knew we didn’t have any contracted players this summer and had lots of work to do.

‘We are working really hard to get the right players and the right blend to help this team.’

Pompey now have recruited six players this summer, with goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi arriving on Tuesday morning.

He joins Marlon Pack, Zak Swanson, Joe Rafferty, Josh Griffiths and Joe Pigott as new arrivals ahead of the season’s start.

Yet strengthening that striking position is still pivotal, with James Collins another player the Blues have missed out on in the last few weeks.

Cowley admits the Bishop blow has been a painful one, particularly considering how close Pompey came to snaring the 25-year-old.

But he has vowed to plough on ahead of the July 30 League One curtain raiser at much-fancied Sheffield Wednesday.

He added: ‘I feel everyone’s frustration, I live it myself, but we’re going to stay really resilient. ‘Never give up, if one door closes we work hard to open another.

‘For us it’s never to dwell and never to get disappointed, it's always to keep positive and keep trying to find a way.

‘You have two choices, either to become the victim or the fighter. The victim bit doesn’t suit me, so we’re going to try to find the solutions.’