Tom Naylor is happy to get on with his unglamorous role in the team.
Pompey’s skipper has been a virtual ever-present in the side this season, although did have a short spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.
His task is to stop the opposition and then let the more attack-minded members of the side do their thing.
And Naylor hopes to do the same against Rochdale on Friday evening, if Kenny Jackett decides not to give him a rest.
The midfielder said: “Everyone knows what my job is in the team and I’m not the one to really score goals or provide assists.
“I’m there to do the defensive stuff, like breaking play up, but I’m feeling better than I did at this stage last year.
"Everyone knows what my job is in the team and I’m not the one to really score goals or provide assists."
“There’s depth in the squad and that’s something we didn’t necessarily have last season, when we couldn’t really change things.
“But you saw on Tuesday night that we made five changes and the guys who all came in were brilliant.
“We’ll have to see what the gaffer decides to do against Rochdale, but we know there’s real quality here.”
Pompey won 3-0 at Spotland earlier in the campaign, although Naylor is expecting the visitors to provide a stern test.
He said: “I didn’t play in the game up at Rochdale, but I think the scoreline flattered us a bit that day if I’m being fair.
“I’m sure they’ll use the same passing system that we saw against MK Dons on Tuesday night, but hopefully we can enjoy a similar outcome.
“That was massive result for us and came at just the right time after our defeat at Fleetwood last weekend.”