Kenny Jackett has hailed the impact made by Ronan Curtis at the start of his Pompey career.
The summer signing from Derry marked his second appearance for the club by bagging a brace to beat Blackpool.
He struck once in each half before Mark Cullen’s late strike ensured a nervy finale at Bloomfield Road.
That clinical touch certainly impressed Jackett, who was also delighted with Ronan’s tireless work-rate.
The Blues boss said: “A couple of goals will really help his confidence and he also hit the post during the first half.
“He’s been playing in a competitive and physical league and to see him build on that over here in League One is great.
"It’s still early days, but the thing that’s impressed me most is his willingness to work hard for the team."
“It’s still early days, but the thing that’s impressed me most is his willingness to work hard for the team.
“Whatever talents people have and whatever role they play, you have to be selfless and put Pompey first.
“I also thought that Oli Hawkins did well. He set both goals up and we needed someone with his presence.
“There will be days for guys like Brett Pitman and Conor Chaplin – we need all of our forwards with the games coming up.”
Pompey were cruising towards victory before Cullen’s late strike, with the striker also having a goal disallowed in stoppage-time.
Jackett said: “There were certain areas that we clearly got right and others where we still need to improve.
“We were in control at 2-0 and then gave away a poor goal, which came straight from their goal-kick. It meant we gave ourselves a problem.
“There was undue pressure on us for the final 10 minutes and it’s something that I’m sure we’ll learn from.
“But in the end we battled through for the win and it means we’ve made an excellent start to the new season.”