Portsmouth defender highlights key differences which can deliver promotion this season as ex-Norwich City and Lincoln City man sends no-nonsense message

And the Blues defender pinpointed exactly what he belives those differences are which can have his team celebrating promotion next May.

Raggett insisted a berth in the second tier is firmly the aim this season - and refused to apologise for not trying to temper ambitions.

The 28-year-old has been enthused by Pompey’s start as they bid to maintain their unbeaten league opening at Port Vale.

Raggett has been present through failed attempts to reach the promotion in his three years at Fratton Park.

But he feels the addition of fire power along with greater depth and experience leaves Pompey better placed to realise their ambitions.

Raggett said: ‘I think we’re in a real good place.

‘If you look, we’ve got a solid team.

‘Last season on the whole we were pretty solid, but were just missing a few goals.

‘If you look at the start of the season it seems we’ve added that.

‘Colby (Bishop) has started with a lot of goals, Pigs (Pigott) has as well and Dane (Scarlett) has looked really sharp.

‘We’ve added goals definitely and we have more options.

‘The goals are a big difference and we’ve added more strength in depth.

‘If you look back to the first half of last season, a lot of the teams we put out were thrown together with players playing out of position.

‘This year we’ve got more strength in depth.

‘If you lose a big player like Louis (Thompson), last season that would be a nightmare. Even now he’s going to be a massive loss, but we have other players who can come in.

‘On top of that, we’ve brought in experienced players who are down to earth - proper nice guys.

‘That definitely helps, especially with the younger players. We’ve got a real good mix at the moment.’

This will be Raggett’s fourth season at Pompey in which he’s sampled play-off frustration against Oxford United, along with two further seasons in which the club have failed to go up.

Danny Cowley came in at the end of the 2020-21 campaign with many viewing last season as a period of transition.

Raggett doesn’t want to waste time, though, with his target clear after signing a new two-year deal in the summer.

He said: ‘I want the highlight of my time here to be something that is still to come.

‘Promotion has always been the aim and I’m not afraid to say that.

‘Some people talk about rebuilds and all of that kind of stuff.

‘Me personally, I want to get promoted and I know I’m speaking for the rest of the players as well.

‘That’s always going to be the aim for this football club, especially in League One.’