Pompey were facing the possibility of a third Saturday out of four without a first team fixture.
So Kenny Jackett is glad that his side are in action against Norwich’s under-21s in the Leasing.com Trophy (12.30pm kick-off).
It does leave them playing catch-up in League One slightly, with some sides having played three more matches come 5pm on Saturday.
Jackett will be rotating his squad against the young Canaries and has one eye on some important upcoming games.
The Blues boss said: “It’s been an unusual situation, with Victorious Festival, the Bury game and international call-ups.
“But it’s out of our control and couldn’t be helped. We’ve had a good week on the training ground, with the players applying themselves and looking sharp.
“We’ve used the time constructively and feel that we will benefit from it, so we’re looking forward to the games now.
"We’ve had a good week on the training ground, with the players applying themselves and looking sharp."
“The decision was made to pull this Norwich game forward a few weeks. It helps us and frees up some time later in the season.
“They will be talented – as all category one academies are. They’ll want to do well in the competition and have entered it for matches like these at Fratton Park.
“We’ll obviously be prioritising Burton on Tuesday and then the game at Wycombe the following Saturday.
“So these fixtures give an opportunity – as we saw so successfully last season – for some of our younger players, as well as the guys on the fringes.”
Jackett has explained his decision to give the captain’s armband to Tom Naylor and insists that previous holder Brett Pitman has an important role to play.
He said: “I felt it was the right time for Tom after the window shut and I had the opportunity to assess the squad.
“We were looking for some consistency in that area because it has changed around and I felt it was better to have a defensive player as captain.
“Brett scored last time out and is now looking to really cement his position in that ‘number 10’ spot. He’s certainly capable of that.
“But he’s got some competition – Andy Cannon has started the season well and we’ve also got Gareth Evans.
“He needs to score the goals and concentrate on finding his best form for us, so he can have a positive contribution this season.”