Ben Close has become a pivotal part of the Pompey team since Danny Cowley’s arrival as head coach last month.
The academy graduate had been reduced to cameo appearances and cup run-outs for the majority of the campaign.
But after impressing when coming off the bench against Ipswich, he has started the past four League One fixtures.
Close admitted that he found the situation tough at times, but is now raring to go for the remainder of the campaign.
The midfielder said: “It’s obviously been a difficult season for me, but the fact I haven’t played much football means I feel fresh and energised.
“When you’re not in the side it’s going to be frustrating – it’s something that happens to everyone during their career.
“You’ve just got to understand that it’s not going to be like that forever and work hard on the training pitch.
"It’s obviously been a difficult season for me, but the fact I haven’t played much football means I feel fresh and energised."
“At some point you’re going to be expected to play again and so you need to do what you can to be ready for that chance.
“The toughest thing is when the team are getting ready on a Saturday and you’re training in a smaller group.
“But you use that as a chance to work on things – whether that’s fitness or technical – in order to improve.
“Athletes need to be mentally tough to get through periods like that or they’re not going to make it in their sport.”
Pompey will look to recover from a weekend loss to Burton when they visit Crewe on Tuesday evening.
Close said: “It’s always important, where possible, to make sure you don’t follow one bad result with another one.
“All our focus now is on going to Crewe and doing everything we can to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat.”