Adrian Segecic saluted Pompey completing their Championship survival mission with two games to spare.

And the Blues’ top scorer believes his side’s excellent three-game winning run afforded them the necessary breathing space, as they slumped to a 5-1 thumping at champions Coventry City.

The loss to Frank Lampard’s Premier League-bound men was of little consequence, as Oxford United’s defeat to Wrexham means John Mousinho’s men are safe in the second tier for another season.

It was a match too far for Pompey as they looked jaded from the outset, but that was compounded by calamitous defending which proved costly.

But it was the huge wins against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough which did the donkey work along with success over Leicester City on Saturday.

Segecic felt those efforts took their toll on Pompey, but meant that could be the case at the CBS Arena.

He said: ‘It’s not the way we wanted to be safe, but if you’d said a couple of weeks ago we’d be safe with two games to go I’d say that was a massive achievement.

‘Those three wins in eight days were massive and, after that, it means you can afford nights like these ones.

‘The boys have given everything over these past couple of weeks. There’s been people that have given everything and been playing with injuries, who shouldn’t have played. So now we can get a bit of a rest and recover.

‘I just think if you said to everyone a few weeks ago we’d be in this position, they would have definitely taken it.

Segecic’s second-half goal offered the only glimmer of excitement on the pitch, as the 21-year-old took his tally of finishes to seven in his maiden season in English football.

That has been supplemented by four assists - with three of them arriving across the course of the trio of games preceding the Coventry clash which have secured survival.

Stepping up with those deliveries at a key moment was of particular satisfaction to the man who arrived from Sydney FC last summer.

Segecic added: ‘The goal was a bit of me, it’s my favourite position there on the edge of the box.

‘The assists for the team are probably three of the most important assists of the season.

‘We saw how important deliveries and set-pieces are. Goals don’t come easy, so set-pieces are critical. So to get three assists lately when we needed it most is really big for me.

‘That’s 11 goals and assists in total - it’s a big achievement for me. It’s my first season in the Championship, so it’s not a bad effort.’