Pompey will have to pick themselves from the floor after suffering play-off heartache against Sunderland.
That is the view of top scorer Jamal Lowe following a narrow aggregate defeat to the Wembley-bound Black Cats.
The sides played out a goalless draw at Fratton Park after Chris Maguire’s fine volley in the first leg had given the Wearsiders a slender lead.
But Lowe also feels that it has been an encouraging 10 months for the Blues, which gives them something to build on.
He said: “It’s a hard one to take, but we’ve had a positive season overall with a great bunch of players.
“We probably deserved to nick the win on the night and their goalkeeper made some impressive saves. That proved to be the difference.
"We’ve scored a lot of goals and have battled back to take points on several occasions – we’ve got to bring all that into the next season."
“I think we can look back on the campaign as a whole and be proud of what we’ve done, while trying to better it next time around.
“Everyone will be on the floor for a day or two, but we finished fourth with 88 points and that would be enough to get promoted in plenty of years.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals and have battled back to take points on several occasions – we’ve got to bring all that into the next season.”
Lowe was a surprise omission from the starting line-up, although the winger came on early in the second half.
He said: “Everyone wants to play all the time and I’m no different. It’s part of football and you have to deal with it
“I just had to come off the bench and try to make an impact, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough in the end.”