But Andre Dozzell believes the sense of togetherness created by the League One title win success is carrying his team forward in the second tier.
John Mousinho’s men return to action after the international break this Sunday as West Brom arrive at Fratton Park.
The Baggies sit second in the table and are unbeaten on four league games, with relegated Premier League side Burnley to follow at Turf Moor.
Pompey have three draws to their name, with their first defeat arriving against table-topping Sunderland last time out.
The level of graft from Mousinho’s men has been a hallmark of their performances to date, with their distances covered making for impressive viewing.
Dozzell knows there can simply be no let-up in those levels if it’s to be a successful season.
He said: ‘It’s part and parcel – you have to have that graft otherwise teams will kill you in this league.
‘Teams we’ve played this season have a lot of individual talent on the pitch. If you aren’t going to work hard and graft you won’t get anything out of the game.
‘If you look at games like Leeds we drew 3-3 with a top, top team and were disappointed not to come away with three points. That just shows where we’re at.
‘It’s still early doors, but we need to keep positive and keep improving because it’s clear no games in the Championship are easy.
‘We have to keep that work. Last year there was a team created that was winning every week – that’s hard to come by.
‘So we have to keep that gelling the team together and hopefully it will make for a successful season.’
It’s been a gruelling Championship opening for Pompey, after taking on fancied contenders to date and a top flight team from last season in Luton.
There’s going to be not let-up, however, with the other two relegated Premier League sides to come after a stern test against the Baggies.
Dozzell added: ‘You couldn’t really get a harder start and we’ve given a good account of ourselves and what we can do.
‘We’ve show that we can graft and get into the nitty-gritty bits to grind out results – that is what you’re going to need in the Championship.
‘It’s not all going to be pretty, sometimes you have to grind it out to get the points on the board.’
