Portsmouth goalkeeper James Ashdown admits he's amazed by the lift in quality of the squad.

He told the Portsmouth News: "It's been great seeing everyone again and when you look around there's so much talent here. I was signed after Portsmouth's first season in the Premier League and it's incredible how far the club has come since then. It used to be every year it was a battle to stay in the Premier League. Now we are just getting better and looking higher than mid-table. Who'd have thought it?

"It's amazing turning up for training and seeing people like Sol Campbell, David James, Sulley Muntari - absolutely incredible. To think we're now getting players of that calibre here. You have to pinch yourself, really. The growth has been fantastic. To come this far in a relatively short space of time is outstanding and a credit to everyone involved.

"Being only young myself I would love to have the experience of European football with this club and hopefully we can achieve that. It would be great to have seen Portsmouth come from where they were and then see them in Europe. But it could happen with the calibre of players here nowadays."