The former Portsmouth players at Sheffield United, Swansea, Derby, Wigan and Barnsley who should be 'indebted' to Blues

But the Blues’ title-winning captain, Michael Doyle, believes those former team-mates now riding high elsewhere should remain forever ‘indebted’ to their former club for helping kick-start their careers.

Cast your mind back four seasons and you realise just how good a squad Pompey had as they were crowned League Two champions under Paul Cook.

It was a team that included the likes of Enda Stevens – currently in the Premier League with Sheffield United – Jamal Lowe, at Championship Swansea, and Matt Clarke – now on loan at Derby from Premier League Brighton. All players who progressed their careers after departing PO4.

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When you also factor in Conor Chaplin and Kal Naismith, operating in the second tier with Barnsley and Luton respectively, and Christian Burgess – now playing the in Belgian second division – were part of Cook's title-winning squad you recognise the real quality the then-boss had at his disposal.

For Doyle, 39, who left Pompey for Coventry just days after lifting the League Two trophy at Fratton Park, he's been delighted to see what some of his former team-mates have managed to achieve since.

But he feels his former club deserve a great deal of credit for moulding them into the players they currently are.

And the Notts County skipper says all of those operating in the Championship and Premier League should be thankful to Pompey for providing them with their opportunities.

Doyle said: ‘Kal Naismith, Burgey (Christian Burgess), Jamal Lowe, Conor (Chaplin), Enda Stevens and Matt (Clarke) – they were good players.

‘But I think Portsmouth are responsible for a lot of those players’ careers – I mean that in the best possible way.

‘They gave them all a platform – a lot of these players, like Enda and that. He’d lost his way in the game and had a tough time at Aston Villa as a young kid. He went to Northampton and on a few loans and it hadn’t worked out.

‘He came in and found his feet again at Portsmouth.

‘At Portsmouth, a lot of them got their careers going and rejuvenated.

‘A lot of these lads, I’m sure, are indebted to the club because it was an honour to play for Portsmouth.

‘But then to go and perform and do the way we did it (win the league) kick-started a lot of lads’ careers. They’re still reaping the benefits from that so it’s brilliant for them.’

In the days and weeks after Pompey's League Two title win, manager Cook controversially left for Wigan, while Doyle departed to join Coventry - a switch he says was largely down to wanting to be closer to his young family.

Stevens would also complete a move to Sheffield United and Gary Roberts - after being frozen out by Kenny Jackett – linked up with Cook at Wigan later that summer.

But had the core of that squad stuck together as they entered League One, Doyle is adamant they could have achieved a second successive promotion.

He added: ‘I think if we’d stayed together we could have genuinely had a good push of doing a double promotion from League Two to League One and getting straight up.

‘I genuinely think we had some really good players and we’d hit our straps. As a team those last 14 games were what we were capable of.

‘When we went on that unbelievable run for 14 games (to win the League Two title), it’s what we were capable of, we just never did it over the two years consistently.

‘I do think there was a strong possibility that we could of – I’m not saying we would have – but there was a strong possibility we could have gone on to a double promotion.’