Paul Downing has been frustrated by his extended run out of the Pompey side.
Kenny Jackett has preferred to use Sean Raggett and Oli Hawkins as partners for Christian Burgess in the centre of defence in recent weeks.
But he made plenty of changes for Tuesday evening’s Leasing.com Trophy victory over Northampton – a result that secured safe passage to the third round.
Downing was one of those given a chance to impress and hopes it will lead to more minutes on the pitch.
The summer signing said: “I haven’t played much football in the past few months, so I was delighted to get a start and help the lads progress in the competition.
“It has been frustrating for me because I came here to play games and want to be doing that week in, week out.
“I do feel like I’ve got some real experience that can help the team, but the manager can only pick 11 players.
"You have to stay positive, train hard and encourage the other players, being prepared to take your chance when it comes along."
“I’ve a promotion from this division under my belt and it’s just about staying patient and hoping those opportunities aren’t too far away for me.
“You have to stay positive, train hard and encourage the other players, being prepared to take your chance when it comes along.”
Pompey had to battle from behind to beat the Cobblers, with goals from Leon Maloney and Marcus Harness getting the job done.
Downing said: “We didn’t start the way we wanted to – although you have to give Northampton some credit for that and we had to adjust to their shape.
“But I was pleased with the way we responded to falling behind. We soon got to grips with them and created a lot of good chances.
“We probably should have scored some more goals, but there was a lot of experience on the pitch and we managed the game well, restricting them to very little.
“I felt comfortable that we were under no real pressure towards the end and were able to get over the line.”