Pompey have shown how deadly they can be on the counter-attack on quite a few occasions this season.
So Sean Raggett was pleased to see that they were also able to play with patience to see off a more conservative Southend side on Tuesday evening.
The Blues had to take the initiative against their cautious visitors, with John Marquis’ opener on the stroke of half-time opening the floodgates in a 4-1 victory.
And Raggett knows they will have to find similar performances if they are to win on a more consistent basis this term.
The centre-back said: “A lot of teams will come to Fratton Park and sit in against us, so we’ve been working on how to break them down.
“I think the scoreline we saw against Southend on Tuesday night has been coming, so it was nice to see.
“We’ve struggled recently against sides like them, but this time we scored a few goals and that will do our confidence a world of good.
"A lot of teams will come to Fratton Park and sit in against us, so we’ve been working on how to break them down."
“Every team will have their moments during a game and they got one back, which could have made us nervous.
“But instead we were able to push on and get those two extra goals that meant we could kill the game off.
“I thought we deserved a clean sheet, so it was frustrating that we weren’t able to keep one. It wasn’t to be, but we’re just happy with the win.”
Raggett had a shaky start to his Pompey career after missing a lot of last season through injury, but has now built a solid partnership with Christian Burgess at the back.
He said: “I wish that we’d won a few more games in that time, but I’m happy to be in the team – that’s why I came here.
“It feels like I’m getting stronger and stronger each week. I think I underestimated how tough it would be after a long spell out injured.
“I’ll always work hard because we’ve got the best job in the world. Now I’m in the team, I want to stay there.”