There was a time earlier in the season when Pompey were more concerned with pulling away from the bottom of the table than catching the teams at the top.
But the Blues have enjoyed a storming run of form in recent weeks to climb into the top six and close the gap on the automatic promotion spots.
In fact, victory at Tranmere on Saturday would set a new club record of nine successive wins in all competitions.
And Ronan Curtis is delighted that Pompey have turned around their fortunes to mount a Championship charge.
Pompey’s leading scorer said: “We didn’t get off to a good start, which was perhaps because there were a lot of new faces and they needed time to gel.
“The fans were getting on our backs a bit because of the results – as you would expect – but perhaps it was a confidence thing.
"There were a lot of new faces and they needed time to gel."
“We were battering teams at times, but still not getting the result, which causes headaches and heartache.
“We were down near the bottom of the table and I just wanted to keep fighting and start winning for the lads and the manager.
“I knew that when I got a goal, more would come along, but now everyone’s chipping in and that’s so important.
“Even Burgey’s managed to score three from set-pieces in the past few weeks! It’s helped create a real feelgood factor.”
Pompey face a struggling Tranmere side who are six points adrift of the safety line with 18 games remaining.
Curtis said: “Hopefully we can get a positive result on a difficult pitch, although it’s certainly not going to be easy.
“The surface doesn’t look great, but we’ve got a job to do and want to return home with all three points.”