After a bit of a torrid run of late, it was fantastic to get such a resounding won at Portsmouth on Saturday.

To score five goals at anytime is impressive enough but to do it without top scorer Jay Rodriguez, who is still out with injury, is even more pleasing.

Charlie Austin’s form has kind of mirrored that of his team-mates in recent weeks so the hat-trick, after coming on as a second half substitute, will have done him the world of good.

Danny Ings capped a superb second half with a goal, his first for the club, and again that will lift a huge weight of his young shoulders.

He’s been unlucky with injury but boss Eddie Howe obviously saw something in him and we are now starting to see it.

The play offs are still out of reach for us I feel but ending the season strongly allows you to go into the summer on a high and go into the new campaign with a lot of confidence.

There is no real explanation for our recent blip and while it is frustrating, sometimes with a young side these things are going to happen.

Howe is always looking for a reaction from his players and he certainly got one on Saturday.

He works the players very hard and they do respond, unlike the lads at a club not too far away.

I said last week before the second leg of the FA Youth Cup semi final that the future looked bright and the young lads’ performance on Wednesday night confirmed that.

They may have been beaten by a more physical Blackburn Rovers side but there were plenty of positives to take from the game.

The way they handled the occasion in front of a large Turf Moor crowd showed a maturity beyond their years and the way they played the game was good.

A couple of them have since been handed professional contracts and I don’t think they will be the last.

Young Cameron Howieson was given a place on the bench on Saturday and I think just being involved with the first team at this early stage will be a valuable experience.

Eddie Howe has put his faith in youth before and I am sure he will continue to do so at Turf Moor.

The visit of Birmingham City tomorrow night gives us a chance to build on the fine display at Pompey and give the home crowd something to cheer about.

It looks like we will still be missing Jay – reports yesterday suggested it could be several weeks before he is it again – but while goal scoring has been a big worry in the last couple of weeks, or five-goal haul on the south coast should add a little bit of confidence to our forward play.

As ever, it promises to be a cracking tie with Christ Hughton’s side having kick started heir promotion push with a 3-1 win at Doncaster Rovers at the weekend.