The story of how Michael Jacobs stayed at Portsmouth - and the challenge now for ex-Derby County, Wolves and Wigan Athletic man

Perhaps the Blues winger should realign that belief to the Blues faithful not seeing ENOUGH of the best of him.

That now clearly is the challenge for a player who retains the ability to be his side’s key difference maker, as a positive conclusion was reached to contract negotiations on Tuesday night.

With his future up in the air over recent weeks, Jacobs privately spoke of a lingering feeling of having ‘unfinished business’ at Fratton Park.

With the prospect of his near two-year stay being at a close, that sentiment niggled away at the man who arrived from Wigan Athletic.

His first club Northampton and ambitious Mansfield, led by his former Derby County boss Nigel Clough, were among those waiting to pounce.

But Jacobs believes his talent still belongs on a higher stage than League Two. And you’ll find scarcely a dissenting voice from his side’s followers on that front.

The issue, of course, has been his injury record.

The 2020-21 campaign brought two medial collateral ligament injuries to his knee, a hamstring problem and then unfortunately contracting coronavirus.

Things have been better over the past term, although there was a knee injury picked up in an 'unopposed' training drill in February.

A more significant factor was Cowley’s reticence in using Jacobs’ obvious quality. The stats read one league outing before January, which quite frankly was an outrageous lack of use for a player of his talent.

It was a decision the Pompey boss was later big enough to admit he’d got wrong, as the former Wolves man came to the fore in the new year.

When Jacobs is prompting play, popping up in dangerous pockets and driving at the opponent with the ball, there’s not a player to match him in his side’s ranks.

As Cowley warmed to the prospect of retaining that talent, the challenge became finding a way to keep him at PO4 which suited all parties.

So credit to all involved for being able to find that common ground.

The notion of a play-as-you-play deal evolved into a performance-based agreement, where Jacobs would earn a basic wage topped up with incentives.

The club could then protect themselves to a fair degree if the worst was to happen moving forward, while the player deserves credit for not being blind to their position and concerns.

Given a clear run, Jacobs still has a lot more football to play at the age of 30, and many would have been more demanding in terms of requiring a length of contract commitment he could’ve found elsewhere.

It’s at that point, however, we return to his motivating factor of giving Pompey fans a clear sight of a player who will have few peers at this level next term, if he reaches the level he desires.

If the Blues talisman can achieve that over an extended period, his club will be a sizeable step closer to achieving their ambitions.