There are seasons when the table tells you everything, and then there are seasons when the table tells you just how far a club has come. Portsmouth are in the second category now, because two points off the Championship play-off places is not where many people expected them to be when the campaign began.
That is why the early talk around Terry Devlin and this Portsmouth side has felt so different. Pepe Lacey, a Pompey fan and The News journalist, said on Radio Solent that it has been “really enjoyable to watch” because Portsmouth are not simply “scraping over the line.” Instead, he pointed to “some really strong performances since the turn of the international break back in October.”
Why the start has surprised people
The surprise comes from the contrast with recent history. Portsmouth spent several seasons in relegation scraps, and even Lacey noted how much positivity there is around this start after the club “started so poorly” in the first couple of years. That background matters, because expectation shapes everything in football. A team that has spent years looking over its shoulder does not usually move quickly into the conversation around the play-offs.
Yet that is exactly where Portsmouth find themselves. Lacey said he did not think many Pompey fans would have expected to see the team where they are now, and he described being two points off the play-offs as “nothing short of spectacular.” That word is doing a lot of work. It is not just about position in the table; it is about how much better this feels than the recent default setting of survival mode.
What the October shift suggests
The reference point in October is important because it suggests the improvement was not accidental. Since the international break back then, Portsmouth have produced stronger performances, and that has changed the mood around the club. It is one thing to be hovering near the play-off places briefly. It is another to look like a side that can stay there because the performances themselves have improved.
For Terry Devlin and the rest of the squad, that is the real story here. The numbers say Portsmouth are close. The context says they are ahead of schedule. And the performances since October suggest this is not just a flattering snapshot, but a sign that the club has shifted into a more ambitious phase.
That does not guarantee anything over the rest of the season. But it does explain why the conversation around Portsmouth feels so different now. After years of struggle, being two points from the play-offs is not a small update. It is a marker of progress, and for Pompey supporters, that alone makes the start feel spectacular.
